IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v100y2023ics0738059323000639.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Women’s bargaining power and spending on children’s education: Evidence from a natural experiment in China

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Chao
  • Sun, Daoming

Abstract

How women’s bargaining power affects children’s education remains an open question. This paper explores the impact of women’s bargaining power on children’s educational expenditure, using a sample comprising 5099 couples from China Family Panel Studies. The Difference-in-Differences approach is applied based on the natural experiment of an amendment to the Chinese Marriage Law concerning intrahousehold property ownership. We find that the decline in women’s bargaining power caused by the law amendment significantly reduces couples’ expenses on children’s education. Holding all the characteristics of the couple and time and regional factors constant, when women are deprived of their housing property, expenditure on children’s education drops by an average 35.9%. Further analysis shows that when the husband has a larger advantage in education and income, and stronger patriarchal beliefs, the wife’s bargaining power is affected more by the law amendment, with a larger significant negative effect on spending on children’s education. This paper suggests that policies that deteriorate gender equality can affect not only women’s status within the household but also household’s investment in child education.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Chao & Sun, Daoming, 2023. "Women’s bargaining power and spending on children’s education: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:100:y:2023:i:c:s0738059323000639
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102787
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059323000639
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102787?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cheryl Doss, 2013. "Intrahousehold Bargaining and Resource Allocation in Developing Countries-super-1," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 52-78, February.
    2. Matthew Collin & David N. Weil, 2020. "The Effect of Increasing Human Capital Investment on Economic Growth and Poverty: A Simulation Exercise," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 43-83.
    3. Frederik Booysen & Sevias Guvuriro, 2021. "Gender Differences in Intra-Household Financial Decision-Making: An Application of Coarsened Exact Matching," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-11, October.
    4. Heggeness, Misty L., 2020. "Improving child welfare in middle income countries: The unintended consequence of a pro-homemaker divorce law and wait time to divorce," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Joseph Ibrahim & Geert Molenberghs, 2009. "Missing data methods in longitudinal studies: a review," TEST: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 18(1), pages 1-43, May.
    6. Martina Björkman Nyqvist & Seema Jayachandran, 2017. "Mothers Care More, but Fathers Decide: Educating Parents about Child Health in Uganda," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 496-500, May.
    7. Kang, Munsu & Schwab, Benjamin & Yu, Jisang, 2020. "Gender differences in the relationship between land ownership and managerial rights: Implications for intrahousehold farm labor allocation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    8. Joseph Ibrahim & Geert Molenberghs, 2009. "Rejoinder on: Missing data methods in longitudinal studies: a review," TEST: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 18(1), pages 68-75, May.
    9. Pablo Brassiolo, 2016. "Domestic Violence and Divorce Law: When Divorce Threats Become Credible," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(2), pages 443-477.
    10. Caitlin Kieran & Kathryn Sproule & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Cheryl R. Doss, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Landownership across and within Households in Four Asian Countries," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 93(2), pages 342-370.
    11. Feyertag, Joseph & Childress, Malcolm & Langdown, Ian & Locke, Anna & Nizalov, Denys, 2021. "How does gender affect the perceived security of land and property rights? Evidence from 33 countries," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    12. Theophiline Bose-Duker & Michael Henry & Eric Strobl, 2021. "Children’s Resource Shares: Male Versus Female-Headed Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 573-585, December.
    13. Fernandez, Antonia & Kambhampati, Uma S., 2017. "Shared agency: The dominant spouse’s impact on education expenditure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 182-197.
    14. Cheolsung Park, 2007. "Marriage Market, Parents’ Bargaining Powers, and Children's Nutrition and Education," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 69(6), pages 773-793, December.
    15. Pierre-Andre Chiappori & Maurizio Mazzocco, 2017. "Static and Intertemporal Household Decisions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 985-1045, September.
    16. Asiedu, Elizabeth & Azomahou, Théophile T. & Getachew, Yoseph & Yitbarek, Eleni, 2021. "Share the love: Parental bias, women empowerment and intergenerational mobility," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 846-867.
    17. Dong, Xinwei, 2022. "Intrahousehold property ownership, women’s bargaining power, and family structure," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    18. Li, Hongbin & Zhang, Junsen & Sin, Lai Ting & Zhao, Yaohui, 2006. "Relative earnings of husbands and wives in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 412-431.
    19. Ricardo Perez-Truglia, 2020. "The Effects of Income Transparency on Well-Being: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(4), pages 1019-1054, April.
    20. Kate Ambler & Cheryl Doss & Caitlin Kieran & Simone Passarelli, 2021. "He Says, She Says: Spousal Disagreement in Survey Measures of Bargaining Power," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 69(2), pages 765-788.
    21. Fuwa, Nobuhiko, 2000. "The Poverty and Heterogeneity Among Female-Headed Households Revisited: The Case of Panama," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(8), pages 1515-1542, August.
    22. Doss, Cheryl, 2013. "Intrahousehold bargaining and resource allocation in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6337, The World Bank.
    23. Dugasseh, Frank Akowuge & Aapengnuo, Clement & Zandersen, Marianne, 2021. "Land tenure regimes for women in Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Northern Ghana: Opportunities and threats," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    24. Agnes R. Quisumbing & John A. Maluccio, 2003. "Resources at Marriage and Intrahousehold Allocation: Evidence from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and South Africa," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(3), pages 283-327, July.
    25. Handa, Sudhanshu, 1994. "Gender, headship and intrahousehold resource allocation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(10), pages 1535-1547, October.
    26. Rachel Heath & Xu Tan, 2020. "Intrahousehold Bargaining, Female Autonomy, and Labor Supply: Theory and Evidence from India," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(4), pages 1928-1968.
    27. Michael Rogan, 2012. "Poverty and headship in post-apartheid South Africa, 1997-2008," Working Papers 288, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    28. Gaddis,Isis & Lahoti,Rahul Suresh & Li,Wenjie, 2018. "Gender Gaps in Property Ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8573, The World Bank.
    29. Liu, Chia & Esteve, Albert & Treviño, Rocío, 2017. "Female-Headed Households and Living Conditions in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 311-328.
    30. Mishra, Khushbu & Sam, Abdoul G., 2016. "Does Women’s Land Ownership Promote Their Empowerment? Empirical Evidence from Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 360-371.
    31. Siwan Anderson, 2018. "Legal Origins and Female HIV," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(6), pages 1407-1439, June.
    32. Chi, Wei & Qian, Xiaoye, 2016. "Human capital investment in children: An empirical study of household child education expenditure in China, 2007 and 2011," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 52-65.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Subir Bairagi & Ashok K. Mishra & Dat Q. Tran, 2022. "Disentangling gender‐differentiated impacts on food security and poverty: Empirical evidence from Vietnam," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 493-511, April.
    2. Han, Wenjing & Zhang, Xiaoling & Zhang, Zhengfeng, 2019. "The role of land tenure security in promoting rural women’s empowerment: Empirical evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 280-289.
    3. Liyousew Gebremedhin Borga, 2023. "Family policy, intrahousehold bargaining, and child health," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 663-684, May.
    4. Imai, Katsushi S. & Annim, Samuel Kobina & Kulkarni, Veena S. & Gaiha, Raghav, 2014. "Women’s Empowerment and Prevalence of Stunted and Underweight Children in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 88-105.
    5. Frederik Booysen & Sevias Guvuriro, 2021. "Gender Differences in Intra-Household Financial Decision-Making: An Application of Coarsened Exact Matching," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-11, October.
    6. Kumar, Sumit & Patel, Ratna & Chauhan, Shekhar, 2020. "Does land possession among working women empower them and improve their child health: A study based on National Family Health Survey-4," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    7. Meijer, Seline S. & Sileshi, Gudeta W. & Kundhlande, Godfrey & Catacutan, Delia & Nieuwenhuis, Maarten, 2015. "The Role of Gender and Kinship Structure in Household Decision-Making for Agriculture and Tree Planting in Malawi," Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security (Agri-Gender), Africa Centre for Gender, Social Research and Impact Assessment, vol. 1(1).
    8. Klein, Matthew J. & Barham, Bradford L., 2018. "Point Estimates of Household Bargaining Power Using Outside Options," Staff Paper Series 590, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    9. Cheryl R. Doss & Agnes R. Quisumbing, 2020. "Understanding rural household behavior: Beyond Boserup and Becker," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 47-58, January.
    10. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Quisumbing, Agnes & Doss, Cheryl & Theis, Sophie, 2019. "Women's land rights as a pathway to poverty reduction: Framework and review of available evidence," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 72-82.
    11. Matthew Gnagey & Therese Grijalva & Rong Rong, 2020. "Spousal influence and assortative mating on time preferences: a field experiment in the USA," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 461-512, June.
    12. Sara Ratna Qanti & Alexandra Peralta & Di Zeng, 2022. "Social norms and perceptions drive women’s participation in agricultural decisions in West Java, Indonesia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 645-662, June.
    13. Ahmad Reshad Osmani & Albert Okunade, 2021. "A Double-Hurdle Model of Healthcare Expenditures across Income Quintiles and Family Size: New Insights from a Household Survey," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, May.
    14. Wollni, Meike & Lin, Jessie, 2023. "Got Milk? Exploring the link between women’s decision-making in dairy production and welfare investments in boys vs. girls," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335441, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Genicot, Garance & Hernandez-de-Benito, Maria, 2022. "Women’s land rights and village institutions in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    16. Maligalig, Rio L. & Demont, Matty & Umberger, Wendy J. & Peralta, Alexandra, 2017. "Intrahousehold decision making on rice varietal trait improvements: Using experiments to estimate gender influence," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258522, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Christophe J. Nordman & Smriti Sharma, 2016. "The power to choose: Gender balance of power and intra-household educational spending in India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-61, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Katsushi Imai & Samuel Kobina Annim & Raghav Gaiha & Veena S. Kulkarni, 2012. "Does Women’s Empowerment Reduce Prevalence of Stunted and Underweight Children in Rural India?," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1209, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    19. Mahata, Sushobhan & Khan, Rohan Kanti & Chaudhuri, Sarbajit & Nag, Ranjanendra Narayan, 2022. "COVID-19 lockdown, family migration and unemployment in a gendered society," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 218-236.
    20. Kilic, Talip & Moylan, Heather & Koolwal, Gayatri, 2021. "Getting the (Gender-Disaggregated) lay of the land: Impact of survey respondent selection on measuring land ownership and rights," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:100:y:2023:i:c:s0738059323000639. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.