Family Size and Intergenerational Inequality: Evidence from China's One-child Policy

This paper investigates the relationship between family size and intergenerational inequality in China. We construct a fuzzy non-parametric regression discontinuity design by the exogenous variation in fertility caused by the one-child policy. Our findings present that the one-child policy only resu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social indicators research 2023, Vol.165 (1), p.283-307
Main Author: Zhao, Shuai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Budget constraint
Causality
Child sex preferences
Children
Children & youth
Discontinuity
Disposable income
Economists
Education
Elasticity
Families & family life
Family size
Fertility
Households
Human capital
Human Geography
Inequality
Intergenerational relationships
Loans
Microeconomics
Original Research
Population policy
Public Health
Quality of Life Research
Rural areas
Rural communities
Siblings
Social Sciences
Society
Sociology
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Description
Summary:This paper investigates the relationship between family size and intergenerational inequality in China. We construct a fuzzy non-parametric regression discontinuity design by the exogenous variation in fertility caused by the one-child policy. Our findings present that the one-child policy only results in a downward jump in urban fertility but does not significantly affect rural areas. The empirical results further suggest a negative correlation between family size and intergenerational inequality, but there is no evidence for the causal effect. The role of siblings in sharing risks, son preference, birth-order effect, more accessible student aids or loans and relaxed budget constraints are potential explanations for no causal effect.
ISSN:0303-8300
1573-0921
DOI:10.1007/s11205-022-03013-5