Who is the “boss” in planning to have a baby? Fertility and household bargaining in China

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21876801
AutoresJie Ma (0000-0003-4415-6747, Xi'an Jiaotong University), Xiaojun Yang (0000-0002-6203-5773, Xi'an Jiaotong University, autor correspondente), Yuxuan Fei (Xi'an Jiaotong University)
Ano2025
Volume91
Fascículo3
Páginas487-507
Data de publicação2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Demographic Economics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2054-0892 • E-ISSN: 2054-0906
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/dem.2025.2
OpenAlexW4408687178
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas30

Although fertility is typically regarded as a unitary family decision, a meaningful degree of disagreement in fertility willingness exists within households, especially for having two or more children. As China transitioned from a one-child to multiple-child policy, understanding how such disagreement affects fertility decisions is crucial. Using household data from the 2016 China Labor-force Dynamic Survey, we analyze fertility willingness in married couples. We find that over 10% of families disagree on having two or more children. Disagreement negatively impacts plans to have more children: only the husband wanting two children significantly reduces fertility plans compared to mutual agreement, while only the wife wanting two children does not suppress the plan. This is consistent with the wife's veto power in fertility decisions. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that more equal gender role and higher bargaining power contribute to the wife's veto power, offering insights into the mechanism of intra-household fertility decisions

Boss · Business · China · Economics · Environmental health · Family planning · Fertility · Labour economics · Political science · Population · Research methodology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Engineering · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Law · Medicine · Reproductive Health and Technologies