Does intrahousehold bargaining power enhance women's marital satisfaction? A perspective from two competing forces in China

• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Author: Zhongwu Li
• Date: 01 February 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12947

REGULAR ARTICLE

Does intrahousehold bargaining power enhance

women's marital satisfaction? A perspective

from two competing forces in China

Zhongwu Li

School of Economics, Zhejiang University

of Technology, Hangzhou, P. R. China

Correspondence

Zhongwu Li, School of Economics,

Zhejiang University of Technology,

No. 288 Liuhe Road, Xihu District,

Hangzhou 310023, P.R. China.

Email: zhongwulee@163.com

Abstract

In the context of two competing forces (i.e., socioeco-

nomic transformation vs. traditional cultural norms)

influencing Chinese family and its members, the paper

uses the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to empiri-

cally examine the causal relation between intrahousehold

bargaining power and women's marital satisfaction. By

employing an instrumental variable approach, the paper

finds that intrahousehold bargaining power negatively

affects women's marital satisfaction. This conclusion

remains valid after performing various robustness checks.

However, there are some heterogeneous effects found

that the negative effect is particularly significant among

those women of higher age and constrained by external

traditional norms. These women are more conservative

in their own thoughts and thus tend to support the tradi-

tional gender belief of “men being the masters of the

family.”

KEYWORDS

China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), heterogeneity analysis,

instrumental variable regression, intrahousehold bargaining

power, marital satisfaction

JEL CLASSIFICATION

C52, K42, O31

Received: 15 September 2021 Revised: 9 September 2022 Accepted: 12 September 2022

DOI: 10.1111/rode.12947

476 © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Rev Dev Econ. 2023;27:476–498.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/rode

1|INTRODUCTION

With social and economic changes, many advanced cultural concepts have been poured in and

widely spread, which enhances the agency of Chinese women greatly (MacPhail & Dong, 2007).

Driven by it, women are increasingly getting rid of the economic and psychological dependence

on their husbands and are beginning to pursue their own well-being and self-development inde-

pendently (Yu et al., 2019). This is profoundly reflected in Chinese women's declining willing-

ness to marry and have children, as well as the increasing number of divorce cases filed by

women (Chen et al., 2021). According to the Supreme People's Court of China, in 2017, more

than 70% of the plaintiffs in divorce cases were women, and in some regions it is even more

than 80%. These women do not tie themselves to trivial family affairs and simply do not follow

their husbands’various decisions any more, but actively participate in major family affairs for

dominance that concern own well-being. According to the Third National Survey on Women's

Social Status of China, more than 70% women say that they participate in the decision-making

process of important family affairs. In general, the force of socioeconomic changes has pro-

moted all-sided development of women, making them not rely on their husbands, but on self-

capability to seek better well-being and wider choices, which can enhance their marital satisfac-

tion. Therefore, under the influence of this force, intrahousehold bargaining power may

improve women's marital satisfaction.

However, there is another force holding back the empowerment of women, and even fur-

ther widening the gender gap. It is the force of traditional cultural norms. It stipulates men-

centered power relations and social division of labor across gender, and emphasizes that this

arrangement can maximize the harmony and stability of the family (Gao, 2003; Xie, 1994).

According to gender norms, men are often in a dominant position in family affairs, while

women are given auxiliary roles to support their husbands by taking care of family (Wang

et al., 2019). This force has long influenced women's daily behaviors and role orientation in the

family and have made them to have a subconscious understanding of certain behaviors. The

expectations of women on family roles and responsibilities across gender increasingly comply

with the patriarchal gender norms in society (Park & Banchefsky, 2019; Yang & Gao, 2021).

Therefore, under the influence of traditional cultural norms, if gender identity does match the

role assigned by the traditional norms, for example, if the husband as the backbone leads major

family affairs, his wife may obtain higher marital satisfaction; on the contrary, if the wife con-

trols intrahousehold bargaining power, her satisfaction in marriage may decrease due to the

mismatch of personal identity with her traditional role.

The two forces of socioeconomic changes and traditional cultural norms are intertwined and

jointly determine the relation between intrahousehold bargaining power and women's marital

satisfaction. On the one hand, under the influence of socioeconomic changes, intrahousehold

bargaining power may improve women's well-being and marital satisfaction. On the other hand,

under the influence of traditional cultural norms, women's marital satisfaction may be negatively

affected if women have stronger intrahousehold bargaining power. Which force plays a greater

role in women's marital satisfaction? There has been no relevant research to answer this question

in contemporary China.

In view of this, this paper uses the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to empirically inves-

tigate this question and conduct heterogeneity analyses to explore the underlying reasons.

Based on previous studies, we make some contributions to the existing literature in the follow-

ing aspects. First, this is the first paper empirically investigating the causal relation between

intrahousehold bargaining power and women's marital satisfaction. Over the past decades, even

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