Growth-mindset financial education and labor supply of low-income women: An RCT evidence from rural China

More than 2 decades of economic reforms have brought great improvements in the quality of life for women and girls in China. Despite these improvements, in some areas, cultural values and norms concerning gender roles and traditional family structures still influence the values attached to sons and daughters and create strong incentives for son preference (Croll 2000; Li and Lavely 2003). The most striking evidence of the priority parents place on sons is demographic: the "missing girls" phenomenon of abnormally masculine sex ratios at birth. This phenomenon has become more extreme in the economic reform period (Banister 2004). Comments Copyright The University of Chicago Press. Reprinted from Comparative Education Review, Volume 51, Issue 2, May 2007, pages 131-157. Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/512023 This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/gansu_papers/2 Electronically published March 14, 2007 Comparative Education Review, vol. 51, no. 2. 2007 by the Comparative and International Education Society. All rights reserved. 0010-4086/2007/5102-0004$05.00 Comparative Education Review 131 Do Mothers in Rural China Practice Gender Equality in Educational Aspirations for Their Children? YUPING ZHANG, GRACE KAO, AND EMILY HANNUM More than 2 decades of economic reforms have brought great improvements in the quality of life for women and girls in China. Despite these improvements, in some areas, cultural values and norms concerning gender roles and traditional family structures still influence the values attached to sons and daughters and create strong incentives for son preference (Croll 2000; Li and Lavely 2003). The most striking evidence of the priority parents place on sons is demographic: the “missing girls” phenomenon of abnormally masculine sex ratios at birth. This phenomenon has become more extreme in the economic reform period (Banister 2004). However, whether parents privilege sons over daughters in making educational investments is a different question. Educational differences between girls and boys have become much more subtle in recent years (Hannum 2005; Connelly and Zheng 2007a, 2007b). This trend raises questions about whether traditional attitudes can still be linked to a disadvantage for girls in education. In this article, we focus on a poor rural area in northwestern China and investigate whether the gender attitudes of mothers can be linked to their plans for educating their own children in the future. Using recent longitudinal data from the Gansu Survey of Children and Families (GSCF), a survey of rural 9–12-year-old children, families, and schools in Gansu province, we explore whether mothers’ attitudes toward gender equality and oldage support, their expectations of future returns from children, mothers’ perceptions of a child’s promise for continuing schooling, and the child’s actual school performance are linked with mothers’ educational aspirations for the child, controlling for family characteristics. Our article proceeds as follows. We begin by reviewing earlier research on educational aspirations and on gender and education in developing countries. We next discuss the cultural and social contexts of rural China and of Gansu in particular. We then provide an overview of our data and proceed with the analyses. We first show descriptive tabulations of mothers’ beliefs and attitudes regarding gender equality and mothers’ anticipated future fiData collection for the Gansu Survey of Children and Families was supported by grants from the Spencer Foundation Small and Major Grants Programs (wave 1), by NIH grants 1R01TW005930-01 and 5R01TW005930-02 (wave 2), and by a grant from the World Bank (wave 2). Analysis was supported by the University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation.

China's rural economic reforms radically altered land tenure in rural China. With the granting of land use rights and residual income rights to farming households between 1979 and 1983, agriculture shifted from a collective-based to a familybased system. Land was not privatized, however. Ownership remained "collective", with local officials, typically at the village level, exercising a major influence over the allocation of land and the way households could use land. The initial land allocations to families were typically based on household size, household labour supply, or both. The central government's policy was that these allocations were supposed to be for 15 years. In some villages, land use contracts have been respected; in other villages, however, local leaders have periodically redistributed land among households and have intervened throughout the reform period to determine how farmers are able to use the land. The initial reforms triggered an unprecedented acceleration of agricultural growth in China. From 1979 to 1984, the gross value of agricultural output increased in real terms at an annual rate of 7.6 per cent, and grain production rose by 4.9 per cent annually.' Empirical studies attribute a significant part of this increase to enhanced incentives, as farmers were able to keep the output and

To investigate factors influencing maternal health care utilisation in western rural China and its relation to income before (2002) and after (2007) introducing a new rural health insurance system (NCMS). Data from cross-sectional household-based health surveys carried out in ten western rural provinces of China in 2003 and 2008 were used in the study. The study population comprised women giving birth in 2002 or 2007, with 917 and 809 births, respectively. Correlations between outcomes and explanatory variables were studied by logistic regression models and a log-linear model. Between 2002 and 2007, having no any pre-natal visit decreased from 25% to 12% (difference 13%, 95% CI 10-17%); facility-based delivery increased from 45% to 80% (difference 35%, 95% CI 29-37%); and differences in using pre-natal and delivery care between the income groups narrowed. In a logistic regression analysis, women with lower education, from minority groups, or high parity were less likely to use pre-natal and delivery care in 2007. The expenditure for facility-based delivery increased over the period, but the out-of-pocket expenditure for delivery as a percentage of the annual household income decreased. In 2007, it was 14% in the low-income group. NCMS participation was found positively correlated with lower out-of-pocket expenditure for facility-based delivery (coefficient -1.14 P < 0.05) in 2007. Facility-based delivery greatly increased between 2002 and 2007, coinciding with the introduction of the NCMS. The rural poor were still facing substantial payment for facility-based delivery, although NCMS participation reduced the out-of-pocket expenditure on average.

In developing countries aging is in many ways more difficult than in developed countries. In order simply to maintain the same standard of living as they age people must rely on pensions their savings and/or their children or other relatives. However few developing nations offer formal pension plans for rural residents. Nor can they live off of their savings; in developing countries they are generally poor and are not able to accumulate sufficient assets or saving during their lifetimes. Therefore villagers in developing countries typically rely on their extended family to support them in their old age. Life in rural China traditionally has been like rural life in many other developing countries as families have played an important role in maintaining the elderlys livelihood. As in time past this still primarily means reliance on the support of sons. In a typical situation the elderly in rural China live with or next door to one of their sons in an extended family arrangement. (excerpt)

The objective of this paper is to understand the effects of China’s migration on source communities and to discuss their policy implications. We draw from New Economics of Labor Migration (NELM) theory to understand how migration and migrant remittances can relax or tighten market constraints in China’s rural economy. Using simultaneous-equation econometric techniques and household survey data from China, we estimate net, sectorspecific effects of migration on rural household income, focusing on farm production and self-employment. Our econometric findings indicate that the loss of labor to migration has a negative effect on household cropping income in source areas. However, we provide evidence that remittances sent home by migrants positively compensate for this lost-labor effect, contributing to household incomes directly and indirectly by stimulating crop and possibly self-employment production. This finding offers evidence in support of the NELM hypothesis that remittances loosen constraints on production in the imperfect-market environments characterizing rural areas in less developed countries. Taking into account both the multiple effects of migration and the change in household size, participating in migration increases household per-capita income between 14 and 30 percent. Migration and Incomes in Source Communities: A New Economics of Migration Perspective from China China is experiencing the largest peacetime flow of labor out of agriculture ever witnessed in world history (Solinger, 1999; Rozelle et al., 1999). Despite the rapid expansion of labor migration, China’s work force is still disproportionately employed in agriculture compared to other countries at similar levels of per-capita GDP (Taylor and Martin, 2001). Hence, as China’s economy continues to expand, the flow of labor to urban areas will continue and even accelerate (Johnson, 1999). The massive flow of labor away from farms has intensified research interest in China’s migration in recent years. However, as in the broader literature on migration in less developed countries, most recent studies on China’s migration have focused on determining the size and composition of the labor flow, macroeconomic implications of increased migration, and the effects of migration on urban areas (Zhao, 1999; Yang, 1999; 1997). Less emphasis has been placed on researching the effects of migration on the rural communities that migrants leave, even though evidence shows that the rural household in the village of origin is typically the central concern of all those involved in migration– both those who leave and those who stay behind (exceptions include Wang and Zuo, 1999; Bai, 2001). Moreover, the recent increase in migration has left policy makers particularly concerned regarding the way source communities will be affected (MOA, 1999). They are concerned that as labor flows away from farms, food production and crop income will decline, potentially threatening China’s food security. Furthermore, policy makers are concerned about the increasing gap between urban and rural household incomes. If migration exacerbates this gap, some fear that as it grows rural residents eventually will flood cities ill-equipped to absorb them. Others fear that discontent over a rising urban-rural income gap could even spill over into political unrest (Yang, 1999). Because China’s markets and other modern economic institutions are still relatively undeveloped, migration may play a pivotal role in creating or overcoming constraints caused by the lack of well-functioning markets and/or institutions (Knight and Song, 1999; Benjamin and Brandt, 2000). The “new economics of labor migration” (NELM) literature analyzes migration as a household decision rather than as an individual decision (Stark, 1991). The NELM hypothesizes that rural households facing imperfect market environments decide

PurposeUsing survey data from Shandong, Henan and Guizhou provinces of China, the purpose of this paper is to accurately measure the impact of rural residents’ financial education on financial literacy.Design/methodology/approachThis paper chooses one province from the Eastern, Central and Western Regions of China, namely, Shandong, Henan and Guizhou, respectively, and 1,565 samples are obtained through a questionnaire survey. First, the paper constructs a financial literacy assessment framework and, then, scores the financial literacy of the respondents. Second, using ordinary least squares, feasible generalized least squares method and forward search method, the paper estimates the impact factors of financial literacy level. To avoid sample selection errors and endogeneity problems, the authors divide the respondents into treatment group (participated in financial education) and control group (non-participating in financial education) and, then, adopt propensity score matching (PSM) to analyze the impact of rural residents’ financial education on financial literacy.FindingsThe results show that education level and risk level have significant impact on rural residents’ participation in financial education, and some unobservable abilities and qualities also affect their participation. Therefore, the process of rural residents’ participation in financial education exists, which gives rise to self-selection and endogeneity problems; financial education is promoting rural residents’ financial literacy, but the effect of promotion becomes smaller after taking into account sample self-selection and endogenous problems. Rural residents of female, higher age, single, higher education level, higher parental education level, agricultural type, higher family annual per capita income and lower risk level show stronger effects on their financial literacy level, if they participate in financial education.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey sample was drawn from three provinces randomly but the site selection was not random. The implication is in rural China, financial education has positive effect on residents’ financial literacy level but considering the sample self- selection and endogenous nature, its impact becomes smaller.Practical implicationsThe government should encourage rural residents to participate fully in financial education activities, especially those with a low educational level, low risk preference and mainly engaged in agricultural production.Originality/valueThe effect of financial education on financial literacy has not reached a consistent conclusion, and there is fewer quantitative discussion about this issue. The originality of this paper is based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development evaluation index system; this paper constructs the evaluation index system of rural residents’ financial literacy in China and uses the PSM method to accurately measure the effect of financial education on financial literacy.

In this study, we examined the effect of health on the elderly's labor supply in rural China based on the data of the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1997 to 2006. We used simultaneous equations to address the endogeneity problem of health and estimate the models with censored data of labor supply by the full information maximum likelihood estimation. We found that the failing health does not significantly decrease the elderly's labor supply in rural areas when using both the subjective (self-reported health status) and objective (hypertension diagnosed or not) health indicators. Our finding indicates the phenomenon of “ceaseless toil” for the elderly in rural China, i.e., the elderly almost work their whole life even if they are not physically capable. The results remain robust when using a two-stage limited information maximum likelihood estimation.

The purpose of this paper was to examine children’s education financing alternatives among households in rural China. Data on education financing was from a household survey conducted in three poverty villages in Guizhou, China. The difference in financing education by households was verified through non-parametric testing. Findings show that private savings is dominant in financing education of children in school. Formal loans are almost absent even in the highest wealth group examined. The findings implied that the extension of financial services to children’s education could motivate parents to send their children for more education, increase disposable income of rural households by reducing precautionary savings, and provide better-educated labors in rural China.

Private income transfers are becoming increasingly recognized as a key aspect of the U.S. economy. The majority of private income transfers occur inter vivos (i.e., between living persons), but very little is known about this type of transfer behavior. This paper tests alternative hypotheses concerning motivation for inter vivos transfers. Two motives are considered: altruism and exchange. Evidence presented here casts doubt on the altruistic model of transfer behavior. Observed patterns for inter vivos transfers are more consistent with exchange-related motives. This finding has important implications for the effects of public transfer programs on the distribution of economic well-being.

This letter examines the state of financial inclusion in rural China. It shows that despite China's efforts at being financially inclusive there is substantial variability across and within provinces. With strong reliance on electronic technologies, China's rural and farm communities use internet technologies only half as much as all users, and less than 2% access credit through the internet. From a policy perspective, China should address problems of financial education and rural credit access.

The capability of individuals to manage their finances is essential to the outcomes of their entrepreneurial activities. Using panel data from the China Household Finance Survey (C.H.F.S.) in 2013, 2015 and 2017, this article examines how financial capability affects entrepreneurial performance in rural China. The results demonstrate that financial capability is positively correlated with the scale, profitability and sustainability of entrepreneurship, which is robust in consideration of endogeneity. The effects of financial capability are heterogeneous for different entrepreneurs. Furthermore, technology, labour and land act as the mediating variables through which financial capability improves entrepreneurial performance. Therefore, to facilitate entrepreneurial success, it is important to provide entrepreneurs with financial education. Meanwhile, improvements to the financial environment should also be considered. Additionally, financial institutions should combine financial services with factors, such as technology, land and labour, to improve entrepreneurial performance.

Previous articleNext article No AccessChoice of Land Tenure in China: The Case of a County with Quasi‐Private Property Rights*James Kai‐sing KungJames Kai‐sing KungHong Kong University of Science and Technology Search for more articles by this author Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 50, Number 4July 2002 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/343135 Views: 138Total views on this site Citations: 29Citations are reported from Crossref © 2002 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Lawrence W.C. LAI, Stephen N.G. DAVIES, K.W. CHAU, Lennon H.T. CHOY, Mark H. CHUA, Terry K.W. LAM A centennial literature review (1919–2019) of research publications on land readjustment from a neo-institutional economic perspective, Land Use Policy 120 (Sep 2022): 106236.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106236Aoxi Yang, Yahui Wang Spatiotemporal Variations in Farmland Rents and Its Drivers in Rural China: Evidence from Plot-Level Transactions, Land 11, no.22 (Feb 2022): 229.https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020229Zhang Yiwen, Shashi Kant Secure tenure or equal access? Farmers’ preferences for reallocating the property rights of collective farmland and forestland in Southeast China, Land Use Policy 112 (Jan 2022): 105814.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105814Kai Liu, Wenjue Zhu, Mingzhong Luo Land integration and titling policy in China: Institutional barriers and countermeasures, Land Use Policy 112 (Jan 2022): 105849.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105849Wenjue Zhu, Krishna P. Paudel, Biliang Luo The influence of land titling on the disparity between willingness to accept and willingness to pay values, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 64, no.55 (Aug 2020): 930–953.https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2020.1796287Jin Zeng Acceptance or resistance?—Explaining local reactions to land titling in three Chinese villages, The Journal of Peasant Studies 47, no.66 (Oct 2020): 1143–1164.https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2020.1822339Fangping Rao, Max Spoor, Xianlei Ma, Xiaoping Shi Perceived land tenure security in rural Xinjiang, China: The role of official land documents and trust, China Economic Review 60 (Apr 2020): 101038.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2017.03.009Weijie Hong, Biliang Luo, Xinyan Hu Land titling, land reallocation experience, and investment incentives: Evidence from rural China, Land Use Policy 90 (Jan 2020): 104271.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104271Chenxi Li, Zenglei Xi Social Stability Risk Assessment of Land Expropriation: Lessons from the Chinese Case, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no.2020 (Oct 2019): 3952.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16203952Lei Chen, Andrew Michalek, Jia Wang The Norm of Property’s Social Function: A Chinese Perspective, (Sep 2019): 331–354.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7189-9_14Li Huang, Rong Tan The impact of social security policies on farmland reallocation in rural China, China Agricultural Economic Review 10, no.44 (Nov 2018): 626–646.https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-12-2016-0199Yongle Li, Bangrong Shu, Xiaoping Shi, Yu Zhu Variation of Land-Expropriated Farmers’ Willingness: A Perspective of Employment and Inhabitance, Sustainability 9, no.77 (Jun 2017): 1083.https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071083Shitong Qiao The Evolution of Chinese Property Law, (Nov 2016): 182–211.https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316658925.008 References, (Oct 2015): 229–259.https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118827611.refsYiming Wang Negotiating the farmland dilemmas: ‘barefoot planners’ in China’s urban periphery, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 33, no.55 (Nov 2015): 1108–1124.https://doi.org/10.1068/c1302Yiming Wang Negotiating the farmland dilemmas: ‘barefoot planners’ in China’s urban periphery, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 33, no.55 (Nov 2015): 1108–1124.https://doi.org/10.1177/0263774X15610053Fang Yangang, Liu jisheng The modification of North China quadrangles in response to rural social and economic changes in agricultural villages: 1970–2010s, Land Use Policy 39 (Jul 2014): 266–280.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.02.009Lili Jia, Martin Petrick How does land fragmentation affect off-farm labor supply: panel data evidence from China, Agricultural Economics 45, no.33 (Aug 2013): 369–380.https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12071James Kai-Sing Kung, Ying Bai Induced Institutional Change or Transaction Costs? The Economic Logic of Land Reallocations in Chinese Agriculture, Journal of Development Studies 47, no.1010 (Oct 2011): 1510–1528.https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2010.506916Katrina Mullan, Pauline Grosjean, Andreas Kontoleon Land Tenure Arrangements and Rural–Urban Migration in China, World Development 39, no.11 (Jan 2011): 123–133.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.08.009Dirk Loehr External Costs as Driving Forces of Land Use Changes, Sustainability 2, no.44 (Apr 2010): 1035–1054.https://doi.org/10.3390/su2041035Klaus Deininger, Songqing Jin Securing property rights in transition: Lessons from implementation of China's rural land contracting law, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 70, no.1-21-2 (May 2009): 22–38.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2009.01.001Yiming Wang, Steffanie Scott Illegal Farmland Conversion in China's Urban Periphery: Local Regime and National Transitions, Urban Geography 29, no.44 (May 2013): 327–347.https://doi.org/10.2747/0272-3638.29.4.327Xiuqing Zou, Arie J. Oskam New Compensation Standard for Land Expropriation in China, China & World Economy 15, no.55 (Sep 2007): 107–120.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-124X.2007.00087.xANNE HAILA The Market as the New Emperor, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 31, no.11 (Mar 2007): 3–20.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2007.00703.xLiu Liangqun, Rachel Murphy Lineage networks, land conflicts and rural migration in late socialist China, Journal of Peasant Studies 33, no.44 (Oct 2006): 612–645.https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150601137498Klaus Deininger, Songqing Jin Tenure security and land-related investment: Evidence from Ethiopia, European Economic Review 50, no.55 (Jul 2006): 1245–1277.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2005.02.001Klaus Deininger, Songqing Jin The potential of land rental markets in the process of economic development: Evidence from China, Journal of Development Economics 78, no.11 (Oct 2005): 241–270.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2004.08.002 Klaus Deininger and Songqing Jin The Impact of Property Rights on Households’ Investment, Risk Coping, and Policy Preferences: Evidence from China Klaus Deininger and Songqing Jin, Economic Development and Cultural Change 51, no.44 (Jul 2015): 851–882.https://doi.org/10.1086/376885

Fertility, household structure, and parental labor supply: Evidence from China

Purpose The need for a universal rural pension system has been heightened by demographic changes in rural China, including the rapid aging of the nation’s rural population and a dramatic decline in fertility. In response to these changes, China’s Government introduced the New Rural Social Pension Program (NRSPP) in 2009, a voluntary and highly subsidized pension scheme. The purpose of this paper is to assess the participation of rural farmers in the NRSPP. Furthermore, the authors examine whether the NRSPP affects the labor supply of the elderly population in China. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses household-level data from a sample of 2,020 households originating from a survey conducted by the authors in five provinces, 25 counties, and 101 villages in rural China. Using a probit model and conducting correlation analysis, the authors demonstrate the factors affecting the participation and the impact of NRSPP on labor supply of the rural elderly. Findings The results show there are several factors that are correlated with participation, such as specific policy variant in force in the respective household's province, the size of the pension payout from government, the age of sample individuals, and the value of household durable assets. Specifically, different characteristics of NRSPP policy implementation increase participation in China’s social pension program. The results suggest that the introduction of the NRSPP has not affected the labor supply of the rural elderly, in general, although it has reduced participation for the elderly who were in poor health. Originality/value Several previous studies have covered the NRSPP. However, all previous studies were based on case studies or just focused on a small region, and for this reason the results cannot reflect the populations and heterogeneity of rural areas. Therefore, a data set with a large sample size is used in this paper to provide a new perspective to fully understand the participation of NRSPP and its impacts on rural households. This paper will make an update contribution to the literature in the area of pension programs in China.

We were fortunate in having access to a survey of 800 adults in Nanjing that was conducted by the International Wool Secretariate in 1986. The survey was intended for market research (e.g., brand recognition), but questions were asked about the respondent's age, occupation, income, and education level. These questions, though not ideally worded, were sufficient for the undertaking of a returns-to-education study. We believe the data to be unique and, of course, the issue of interest is whether a member of the workforce in China faces investment decisions on education similar to those faced elsewhere. The influence of sex and marital status on the level of income achieved by an individual was also examined. The basic equation modeled personal income as a nonlinear function of schooling and experience, but multicollinearity problems were encountered. As a result, a production function approach was successfully adapted to the returns-toeducation model. The collinearity problem was overcome, and this approach allowed the ease of substitution of education for experience in income generation to be examined more formally. An additional problem of errors in variables arose from a failing in questionnaire design and was handled statistically.