Does “son preference” affect rural floating parents’ willingness to settle in towns and cities?

Yun-Zhi Hu, Ye Xuan and Hai-Feng Wang

International Review of Economics & Finance, 2024, vol. 89, issue PB, 485-510

Abstract: Urbanization in China has accelerated since its reform and opening policy in 1978. The driving forces of the movement from rural areas to cities in current literature include job opportunities, family income, housing conditions, and city size. It remains an open question whether son preference, one of the oldest issues in Chinese culture, impacts rural floating parents' willingness to settle in urban areas. This study examines this question using the 2017 China Migration Dynamic Monitoring Survey (CMDS) data. We find that parents' decisions to provide their sons with better education, help their sons buy houses, and raise their sons to care for them in old age are important channels to enhance parents’ willingness to settle in urban areas.

Keywords: Son preference; Rural floating population; Urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J10 J16 J61 R00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:reveco:v:89:y:2024:i:pb:p:485-510

DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2023.10.043

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