Soc 428: Contemporary China

Lecture 20: Family and intergenerational support

Yu XieThe University of Michigan

Topics to Cover

I. Importance of family in general II. Importance of family in Chinese culture III. Family in contemporary China

Importance of family in general

(1) Family is the basic consumption unit. Shared dwelling Shared “standard of living” Shared wealth Shared economic standing

Importance of family in general

(2) Family is the main mechanism for transmitting social advantages and disadvantages to children. Parents raise children Parents invest in children Parents are responsible for children’s

wellbeing. Parents transmit linguistic, cultural, religious,

and even political values to children.

Importance of family in general

(3) Family is the main mechanism for generating gender inequality. Most adult men and women are in family-like

unions (marriages and cohabiting unions) All girls and boys are evenly distributed to all

types of families. Recall that consumption is at the level of

family. How do we explain gender differences in

social/economic outcomes?

Human Capital Explanation of Gender Inequality

Gary Becker: Role specialization, with the wife specializing in household work and the husband specializing in market labor.

Assumption: consumption (economic well-being) is pooled at the family level.

Trajectories Hypothesized to be typical of “Female” versus “Male” Jobs

Ti me

Earn

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Mal eFemal e

Importance of family in Chinese culture

(1) Family is cherished in folk religion. Ancestors are worshiped. Family/Kinship keeps family temples for

worship. Ancestors are unhappy (betrayed) if

descendants are too poor to pay them respect.

In term, ancestors are supposed to protect/help living descendants.

An Ancestor’s Tomb

Ancestor Worship

“If you are not filial to parents, it is useless to pray to God”

Importance of family in Chinese culture

(2) Filial piety is considered an important character (or merit), especially important for public figures. (Can be basis for promotion.)

Recall “unidimentional evaluation of merit.” Good sons are indications of good persons.

Importance of family in Chinese culture

(3) Family is an extremely important source of support (money, emotion, education, old-age support, etc.).

Strong sense of collective wellbeing. Distrust of outsiders. Keen awareness of “us” vs. “them.”

Preference of family-based resources over institutionalized resources.

Informal/Internal transfers of resources

An Example

A paper by Chu, Xie, and Yu (2007, Sociology of Education).

We showed that, in Taiwan More siblings hurt girls only. More siblings hurt older girls only. More siblings hurt older girls most if they are

much older. Why? Resources of older daughters are

used to invest in their sons.

Family in contemporary China

(1) Family is still extremely important. Parents invest heavily in children. Money transfer among adult family

members is common. Family business is common. Collective well-being is experienced. Family ties and social networks (Guanxi)

are important

Family in contemporary China

(2) Gender relationship has changed somewhat.

Partly due to Communist Revolution Partly due to low-fertility. Partly due to women’s high education level

and universal labor force participation. For example, Shanghai husbands are

known to do housework and let wives’ control family money.

Do Adult Sons Give More Money To Parents than Daughter?

No. In urban China, elderly are provided by the state. Intergenerational transfer is mostly downward

rather than upward. Upward intergenerational transfer is mostly

symbolic. Daughters interact more with parents and give

more money to parents. Parents are often under pressure to support sons

Family in contemporary China (3) Large rural/urban differences.

Rural families are more traditional. Rural families still need sons for old age

support. Rural families still run family-based

businesses (such as farming). Extended family co-residence is more

prevalence in rural China. Children of migrant workers are often cared

for by grandparents – a potential problem.

Second Demographic Transition

Late marriage and non-marriage. Premarital sex Cohabitation. Divorce. Nuclear family and independent living. Out-wedlock childbirth.

Has the Second Demographic Transition Occurred in China?

Yes and no. Late marriage and non-marriage (yes). Premarital sex (yes). Cohabitation (yes). Divorce (yes). Nuclear family and independent living

(yes). Out-wedlock childbirth (not yet).

Trends in Pre-Marital Cohabitation (2010 and 2012 CFPS Data)

  Ever cohabitated

  Male Female

Total 7.36 5.82

     

Birth cohort    

-1939 1.61 1.49

1940-1949 1.94 1.57

1950-1959 3.19 2.23

1960-1969 6.66 5.14

1970-1979 17.61 14.16

Among those were married 2000-2012, 32.6 had cohabitated