Hui Muslims’ Endogamy and Intermarriages: Marriage Markets, Islamic Culture, and Economic Growth

Abstract

This paper examines the spousal choice dynamics among China’s largest Muslim group, the Hui, in the post-1978 reform era. Using the 2005 Chinese Inter-Census Survey data, the competing risk models show a robust and striking regional divide between China’s northwestern provinces and other areas, accounting for aging, education, and household registration status. Compared with those living in non-northwestern regions, those who live in the northwest are much more likely to enter endogamies and to marry at younger ages. Regional differences—especially the reluctance to intermarry in the northwestern region—are mainly attributable to three factors: varying local conditions in the marriage market, the Islamic culture, and economic growth. Particularly, findings show that local economic growth, rather than impeding, serves as an enabling condition that encourages Hui men’s endogamous preferences. This paper provides a demographic assessment of Muslim–Han relations in China and contributes to the explanatory framework of homogamy and intermarriage by integrating aggregate-level demographic, cultural, and economic determinants.