Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Marriage, Parenthood, And Labor Outcomes For Women And Men, Yuping Zhang, Emily C. Hannum

Emily C. Hannum

Why Are Returns To Education Higher For Women Than For Men In Urban China?, Emily C. Hannum, Zhang Yuping, Wang Meiyan

Emily C. Hannum

It is well established that women’s returns to education are higher than men’s in urban China. We argue that this finding, while accurate, is misleading due to its individualist perspective. The incomes to which most working-age women and men have access include not only own income, but spouse income. Further, decisions about participation and investment in the labor force, both consequential for income trajectories, are likely made with partner income and potential income in mind. To our knowledge, no research in China has explored the returns to education enjoyed via spouse income, or the implications of pooling couple income, for …

Family Sources Of Educational Gender Inequality In Rural China: A Critical Assessment, Emily C. Hannum, Peggy A. Kong, Yuping Zhang

Emily C. Hannum

In this paper, we investigate the gender gap in education in rural northwest China. We first discuss parental perceptions of abilities and appropriate roles for girls and boys; parental concerns about old-age support; and parental perceptions of different labor market outcomes for girls' and boys' education. We then investigate gender disparities in investments in children, children's performance at school, and children's subsequent attainment. We analyze a survey of nine to twelve year-old children and their families conducted in rural Gansu Province in the year 2000, along with follow-up information about subsequent educational attainment collected seven years later. We complement our …

Family Sources Of Educational Gender Inequality In Rural China: A Critical Assessment, Emily C. Hannum, Peggy A. Kong, Yuping Zhang

Emily C. Hannum

Gender-Based Employment And Income Differences In Urban China: Considering The Contributions Of Marriage And Parenthood, Yuping Zhang, Emily Hannum, Meiyan Wang

Emily C. Hannum

Previous research on China's labor market gender gaps has emphasized the human and political capital disadvantages of women and new discrimination in the reform era. Analyzing the China Urban Labor Survey/China Adult Literacy Survey, this paper shows that while women are significantly disadvantaged by various measures of human and political capital, these disadvantages explain little of the observed gender gaps in employment status and earnings. Instead, gender gaps in employment and earnings are strongly related to family status. It is only married women and mothers who face significant disadvantages. This finding is likely tied to the fact that wives and …