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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2025

Jie Ma ,
Xiaojun Yang Open the ORCID record for Xiaojun Yang [Opens in a new window]  and
Yuxuan Fei
Jie Ma
Affiliation:
Jinhe Center for Economic Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Xiaojun Yang*
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Yuxuan Fei
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
*
Corresponding author: Xiaojun Yang; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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.

Keywords

fertilityfertility willingnessfertility disagreementhousehold bargainingChina

JEL classification

D10: General J13: Fertility • Family Planning • Child Care • Children • Youth
Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Demographic Economics , First View , pp. 1 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with Université catholique de Louvain

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