Working Paper: NBER ID: w31237
Authors: Liqun Zhuge; Kevin Lang
Abstract: Hukou, China’s household registration system, affects access to public services and signals the strength of a person’s local social network, guanxi. We use a collective model and data on household consumption and spouses’ hukou status to show that hukou plays a crucial role in determining within-family bargaining power. Wives who bring the family more lucrative hukou enjoy significantly higher bargaining power than other wives. Still, these wives have less bargaining power than their husbands. Large differences in preferences between husbands and wives, especially regarding alcohol, tobacco, and clothing, allow us to identify these disparities.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J10; J12; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| hukou status (R28) | wife's bargaining power (D13) |
| local-urban hukou (R23) | wife's bargaining power (D13) |
| wife's hukou status (J12) | resource allocation to goods prioritized by wife (D13) |
| wife's hukou (J12) | wife's social insurance expenditure (J32) |
| husband's preferences (D13) | wife's preferences (D13) |