Soc 428: Contemporary China Lecture 20: Family and intergenerational support
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Transcript of Soc 428: Contemporary China Lecture 20: Family and intergenerational support
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
ing
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