Family migration in China

This article addresses internal migration behaviour in the context of two-gender-couple households in contemporary China. Against the backdrop of increasing female education in a society where ideals in the gendered division of labour prevail, this study assesses the role of partners' education...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Zhu, Min|||0000-0003-3248-0371, Vidal, Sergi|||0000-0003-4011-2077
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:289466
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/289466
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1002/psp.2751
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:China
Couple dynamics
Family migration
Gender inequality
Descripción
Sumario:This article addresses internal migration behaviour in the context of two-gender-couple households in contemporary China. Against the backdrop of increasing female education in a society where ideals in the gendered division of labour prevail, this study assesses the role of partners' education in regards to a couple's migration behaviour. Considering education to be a key resource in a couple's negotiations, we test hypotheses on gender symmetry and asymmetry of a partner's resources with regard to a couple's relocation. Additionally, we assess how the role of partners' resources varies across populations with rural and urban backgrounds, and acknowledge persistent barriers to migration due to household registration policies (Hukou) and the associated disadvantages faced by rural migrants and their children. For our analyses, we deploy longitudinal couple-dyadic data from the China Family Panel Studies (2010-2018) and estimate couples' inter-county moves using discrete-time event history models. Our results suggest that couple relocations are associated with higher levels of the male partner's education, and not with the female partner's education. We do not find that partners' gender ideology moderates these associations. The role of the male partner's education was found to be more relevant in couples' relocations for those with an agricultural household registration. Our research contributes importantly to debates on persistent gender inequality and urban-rural divides in China, and how these factors permeate migration behaviour.