IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-04678-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does culture influence female labor force participation of ethnic minorities? Evidence from a large-scale survey on both sides of the ethnic boundary in China

Author

Listed:
  • Rui Zhou

    (Sichuan University)

  • Xinyue Yu

    (Sichuan University)

  • Tao Wang

    (Sichuan University)

  • Hao Feng

    (Fuzhou University)

  • Shaoyang Zhao

    (Sichuan University)

Abstract

The government continues to face multiple challenges in increasing female labor force participation (FLFP) among ethnic minorities. While culture is considered a key factor, distinguishing it from other factors like institutions remains difficult. This study uses a spatial regression discontinuity design to address this challenge and analyze the differential impact of culture on FLFP on both sides of the ethnic boundary. The results reveal that the probability of FLFP among ethnic minority women is 33.4 percentage points lower than that of Han women on both sides of the ethnic boundary. This finding remains robust across different bandwidths and model specifications, ruling out the influence of factors such as institutional differences, non-random migration, and “sorting behavior”. Mechanism analysis suggests that culture exerts its effect on both sides of the ethnic Boundary through both labor demand and supply dimensions. The impact is particularly pronounced among women aged 18–29 or over 40, those who are unmarried or married with a spouse, and those in families with two or fewer children. This study holds significant theoretical and practical implications for optimizing employment policies for women in ethnic minority regions from a cultural perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui Zhou & Xinyue Yu & Tao Wang & Hao Feng & Shaoyang Zhao, 2025. "Does culture influence female labor force participation of ethnic minorities? Evidence from a large-scale survey on both sides of the ethnic boundary in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04678-2
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04678-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04678-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-04678-2?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. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2006. "Belief in a Just World and Redistributive Politics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 699-746.
    2. Assar Lindbeck & Sten Nyberg, 2006. "Raising Children to Work Hard: Altruism, Work Norms, and Social Insurance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1473-1503.
    3. Kluve, Jochen, 2010. "The effectiveness of European active labor market programs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 904-918, December.
    4. Beatrix Eugster & Rafael Lalive & Andreas Steinhauer & Josef Zweimüller, 2017. "Culture, Work Attitudes, and Job Search: Evidence from the Swiss Language Border," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(5), pages 1056-1100.
    5. Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2008. "Measuring Ethnic Identity and its Impact on Economic Behavior," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 6(2-3), pages 424-433, 04-05.
    6. Mesay A. Tegegne, 2015. "Immigrants’ Social Capital and Labor Market Performance: The Effect of Social Ties on Earnings and Occupational Prestige," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(5), pages 1396-1410, November.
    7. Guojun He & Shaoda Wang & Bing Zhang, 2020. "Watering Down Environmental Regulation in China," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 2135-2185.
    8. Imbens, Guido W. & Lemieux, Thomas, 2008. "Regression discontinuity designs: A guide to practice," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 615-635, February.
    9. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    10. Andrew Gelman & Guido Imbens, 2019. "Why High-Order Polynomials Should Not Be Used in Regression Discontinuity Designs," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 447-456, July.
    11. Ruixue Jia & Torsten Persson, 2021. "Choosing Ethnicity: The Interplay Between Individual and Social Motives," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 1203-1248.
    12. Sonia Bhalotra & Manuel Fernández, 2024. "The Rise in Women’s Labor-Force Participation in Mexico—Supply vs. Demand Factors," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 38(2), pages 319-350.
    13. Charles F. Manski, 1993. "Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(3), pages 531-542.
    14. Shehla R. Arifeen & Jawad Syed, 2024. "Social reproduction and gender beliefs of ethnic minority women," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1230-1249, July.
    15. Ding, Hui & Chen, Yiwei & Yu, Min & Zhong, Jieming & Hu, Ruying & Chen, Xiangyu & Wang, Chunmei & Xie, Kaixu & Eggleston, Karen, 2021. "The Effects of Chronic Disease Management in Primary Health Care: Evidence from Rural China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    16. Jia, Junxue & Liang, Xuan & Ma, Guangrong, 2021. "Political hierarchy and regional economic development: Evidence from a spatial discontinuity in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    17. Julia Beckhusen & Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Thomas Graaff & Jacques Poot & Brigitte Waldorf, 2013. "Living and working in ethnic enclaves: English Language proficiency of immigrants in US metropolitan areas," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(2), pages 305-328, June.
    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. Marini, Annalisa & Navarra, Pietro, 2016. "Autonomy, Social Interactions and Culture," MPRA Paper 69757, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Giampaolo Bonomi & Nicola Gennaioli & Guido Tabellini, 2021. "Identity, Beliefs, and Political Conflict," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(4), pages 2371-2411.
    3. Analia Schlosser & Yannay Shanan, 2025. "Fostering Soft Skills in Active Labor Market Programs: Evidence from a Large-Scale RCT," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 60(1), pages 1-36.
    4. David Wuepper & Robert Finger, 2023. "Regression discontinuity designs in agricultural and environmental economics," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(1), pages 1-28.
    5. Cheng, Maoyong & Fan, Ziying & Feng, Chen & Tian, Binbin, 2024. "Cultural norms and tax compliance: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    6. Furtado, Delia & Papps, Kerry L. & Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos, 2022. "Who Goes on Disability when Times are Tough? The Role of Work Norms among Immigrants," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Shenglong Liu & Yuanyuan Wan & Xiaoming Zhang, 2024. "Retirement Spillover Effects on Spousal Health in Urban China," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 756-783, September.
    8. Zhuo, Chengfeng & Xie, Yuping & Mao, Yanhua & Chen, Pengqin & Li, Yiqiao, 2022. "Can cross-regional environmental protection promote urban green development: Zero-sum game or win-win choice?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    9. Nian, Yongwei, 2023. "Incentives, penalties, and rural air pollution: Evidence from satellite data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    10. Jessen, Jonas & Jessen, Robin & Galecka-Burdziak, Ewa & Góra, Marek & Kluve, Jochen, 2023. "The Micro and Macro Effects of Changes in the Potential Benefit Duration," IZA Discussion Papers 15978, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Arteaga, Irma & Heflin, Colleen & Gable, Sara, 2016. "The impact of aging out of WIC on food security in households with children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 82-96.
    12. Thushyanthan Baskaran & Sonia Bhalotra & Brian Min & Yogesh Uppal, 2024. "Women legislators and economic performance," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 151-214, June.
    13. Sun, Ang & Zhao, Yaohui, 2016. "Divorce, abortion, and the child sex ratio: The impact of divorce reform in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 53-69.
    14. Koichiro Ito & Shuang Zhang, 2020. "Willingness to Pay for Clean Air: Evidence from Air Purifier Markets in China," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(5), pages 1627-1672.
    15. Adam C. Sales & Ben B. Hansen, 2020. "Limitless Regression Discontinuity," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 45(2), pages 143-174, April.
    16. Hasan, Rana & Jiang, Yi & Rafols, Radine Michelle, 2021. "Place-based preferential tax policy and industrial development: Evidence from India’s program on industrially backward districts," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    17. Christelis, Dimitris & Georgarakos, Dimitris & Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna, 2020. "The impact of health insurance on stockholding: A regression discontinuity approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    18. Qi, Yu & Yin, Aoxue & Chen, Jianwei & Yang, Chunfei & Zhan, Pengyu, 2024. "Motivating for environmental protection: Evidence from county officials in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    19. Ari Hyytinen & Jaakko Meriläinen & Tuukka Saarimaa & Otto Toivanen & Janne Tukiainen, 2018. "When does regression discontinuity design work? Evidence from random election outcomes," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 9(2), pages 1019-1051, July.
    20. Franz Buscha & Matt Dickson, 2018. "A Note on the Wage Effects of the 1972 Raising of the School Leaving Age in Scotland and Northern Ireland," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 65(5), pages 572-582, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04678-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    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.