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Mama loves you: The gender wage gap and expenditure on children's education in China

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  • Wang, Haining
  • Cheng, Zhiming

Abstract

We investigate the effect of the provincial female-to-male wage gap on household educational expenditure for children in China. We find that an increase in the female-to-male wage ratio is positively associated with individual households’ educational investment in individual children, especially the out-of-school expenditures. The positive association is stronger for male children than for female children. Educational investment is more sensitive to a decrease in the gender wage gap among those with a higher educational level or a reduction in the gender wage gap within the informal sectors. However, educational investment is not sensitive to the gender differentials in the economic returns to education in the labour market. There is considerable heterogeneity in the effects of the gender wage gap across subsamples. Educational investments in children in senior high school, from medium- and low-income families, from urban areas and from families with only male children are more susceptible to a decrease in the gender wage gap. We also find that family income, economic growth and female bargaining power partially mediate the relationship between the gender wage gap and children's education expenditure.

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  • Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming, 2021. "Mama loves you: The gender wage gap and expenditure on children's education in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 1015-1034.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:188:y:2021:i:c:p:1015-1034
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.06.031
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender earnings inequality; Gender wage gap; Educational expenditure; Children; Returns to education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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