Does Market Development Change the Balance between Economic and Social Determinants in the Household Division of Labor? - A Longitudinal Study of Rural China

Le développement du marché modifie-t-il l’équilibre entre les déterminants économiques et sociaux dans la division du travail au sein du ménage ? Une étude longitudinale de la Chine rurale

Yong He (1)

1 CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International

With a panel sample of more than 3000 rural Chinese households surveyed over 21 years, this study estimates the evolution of relative roles of family status and comparative advantage in human capital in the determination of intrahousehold division of labor in the context of a rapid market development. It finds that market development enhanced the status of women, and changed the traditional rule of “women indoors and men outdoors”. Market development also allocated more young labor to outward wage-earning jobs, and left a higher share of the elderly and juvenile in land-based semi-market activities and chores. These results indicate an increasing importance of human capital over family status in determining time allocation.

Domaines: Economies et finances

Yong He. Le développement du marché modifie-t-il l’équilibre entre les déterminants économiques et sociaux dans la division du travail au sein du ménage ? Une étude longitudinale de la Chine rurale. Revue d'Economie du Développement, 2021, Vol. 28 (2), pp.69-104. ⟨10.3917/edd.342.0069⟩. ⟨halshs-03412046⟩