IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/chnrpt/v51y2015i1p1-22.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Involuntary Bachelorhood in Rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Yan Wei

    (Xi’an University of Finance and Economics)

  • Li Zhang

    (Fudan University)

Abstract

Despite the universality of marriage in Chinese society, involuntary bachelorhood exists, and is becoming an increasingly critical issue. While many studies have addressed the problem from the standpoint of demographic imbalance, we argue that the issue should be understood as a manifestation of the gendered features of the marriage system which work against low-class men. This understanding relates involuntary bachelorhood to the combined effects of spouse selection and marriage practices. To elaborate our argument, the present study explores nuptiality plights of involuntary bachelors. In particular, it examines their marginalisation in the marriage market, defiant choices in the face of market exclusion, and instability of marital relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan Wei & Li Zhang, 2015. "Involuntary Bachelorhood in Rural China," China Report, , vol. 51(1), pages 1-22, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:chnrpt:v:51:y:2015:i:1:p:1-22
    DOI: 10.1177/0009445514557388
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0009445514557388
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0009445514557388?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel Lichter & Zhenchao Qian & Leanna Mellott, 2006. "Marriage or dissolution? Union transitions among poor cohabiting women," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(2), pages 223-240, May.
    2. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, July.
    3. Zhenchao Qian, 1998. "Changes in assortative mating: The impact of age and education, 1970–1890," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(3), pages 279-292, August.
    4. Gould, Eric D. & Paserman, M. Daniele, 2003. "Waiting for Mr. Right: rising inequality and declining marriage rates," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 257-281, March.
    5. Catherine Tucker & Jennifer Van Hook, 2013. "Surplus Chinese Men: Demographic Determinants of the Sex Ratio at Marriageable Ages in China," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 39(2), pages 209-229, June.
    6. Francesco C. Billari & Alexia Prskawetz & Johannes Fürnkranz, 2002. "The cultural evolution of age-at-marriage norms," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2002-018, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yan Wei & Li Zhang, 2016. "Understanding Hypergamous Marriages of Chinese Rural Women," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(6), pages 877-898, December.

    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. Tara Watson & Sara McLanahan, 2011. "Marriage Meets the Joneses: Relative Income, Identity, and Marital Status," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(3), pages 482-517.
    2. Audrey Light & Yoshiaki Omori, 2009. "Economic Incentives and Family Formation," Working Papers 09-08, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.
    3. Averett, Susan L. & Sikora, Asia & Argys, Laura M., 2008. "For better or worse: Relationship status and body mass index," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 330-349, December.
    4. Joelle Abramowitz, 2014. "Turning back the ticking clock: the effect of increased affordability of assisted reproductive technology on women’s marriage timing," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 603-633, April.
    5. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, 2014. "New Partners, More Kids," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 654(1), pages 66-86, July.
    6. Maria Cancian & Daniel Meyer, 2014. "Testing the Economic Independence Hypothesis: The Effect of an Exogenous Increase in Child Support on Subsequent Marriage and Cohabitation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 857-880, June.
    7. Bjerk, David & Han, Seungjin, 2007. "Assortative marriage and the effects of government homecare subsidy programs on gender wage and participation inequality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(5-6), pages 1135-1150, June.
    8. Yue Qian & Zhenchao Qian, 2014. "The gender divide in urban China: Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(45), pages 1337-1364.
    9. Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers, 2007. "Marriage and Divorce: Changes and their Driving Forces," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 27-52, Spring.
    10. Yan Wei & Li Zhang, 2016. "Understanding Hypergamous Marriages of Chinese Rural Women," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(6), pages 877-898, December.
    11. Raphaela Hyee, 2011. "Education in a Marriage Market Model without Commitment," Working Papers 683, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    12. Zhenchao Qian & Daniel T. Lichter, 2018. "Marriage Markets and Intermarriage: Exchange in First Marriages and Remarriages," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 849-875, June.
    13. Michael Geruso & Heather Royer, 2018. "The Impact of Education on Family Formation: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the UK," NBER Working Papers 24332, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Yu-Chen Kuo, 2008. "Wage Inequality and Propensity to Marry after 1980 in Taiwan," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 7(3), pages 231-248, December.
    15. Raphaela Hyee, 2011. "Education in a Marriage Market Model without Commitment," Working Papers 683, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    16. Maryam Dilmaghani, 2019. "Sexual orientation and the ‘cohabitation gap’ in life satisfaction in Canada," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1163-1189, December.
    17. Megan Lemmon & Mira Whyman & Jay Teachman, 2009. "Active-duty military service, cohabiting unions, and the transition to marriage," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 20(10), pages 195-208.
    18. Gerald Eric Daniels & Venoo Kakar & Anoshua Chaudhuri, 2017. "Racial Differences in Transitions to Marriage for Unmarried Mothers," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 370-389, September.
    19. Raphaela Hyee, 2011. "Do Marriage Markets Influence the Divorce Hazard?," Working Papers 685, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    20. Matthijs Kalmijn, 2011. "The Influence of Men’s Income and Employment on Marriage and Cohabitation: Testing Oppenheimer’s Theory in Europe [L’impact du niveau de revenu et du travail des hommes sur le mariage et la cohabit," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 27(3), pages 269-293, August.

    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:sae:chnrpt:v:51:y:2015:i:1:p:1-22. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.