Working Paper: NBER ID: w26185
Authors: Shingyi Wang
Abstract: Combining eight years of panel data with an event study approach, we show that rural Chinese women's labor supply falls for one year following the birth of a daughter before returning to their pre-birth levels. The negative impact of the birth of a son on women's labor supply is much larger in magnitude and persists for four years. We also find that households reduce their cigarette consumption more following the arrival of a boy than a girl. Furthermore, there is an increase in the mother's probability of being in school, her leisure time, and her participation in household decision-making following the birth of boys relative to daughters. There is no evidence of increases in investments in boys that would be complementary to mothers' time, such as breastfeeding, immunizations or consumption of milk or meat. Together, these results are consistent with the idea that mothers are rewarded for giving birth to boys, leading them to have more leisure and work less.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J13; J16; J22; O12; O53
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| birth of a son (J13) | labor supply of rural Chinese women (J21) |
| birth of a daughter (J13) | labor supply of rural Chinese women (J21) |
| birth of a son (J13) | likelihood of stopping work during pregnancy (J22) |
| birth of a son (J13) | reduction in number of days worked (J22) |
| birth of a son (J13) | persistent decline in labor force participation (J21) |
| birth of a daughter (J13) | return to pre-birth levels of labor supply (J19) |
| birth of a son (J13) | decreased work obligations and increased leisure time (J22) |