The Effects of Rural-Urban Migration on Intergenerational Financial Transfer in China: From a Gender Perspective

Xiaoyi Jin, Stanford University
Shuzhuo Li, Xi'an Jiaotong University
Marcus W. Feldman, Stanford University

Rural-urban migration gives female migrants a dramatic shift from their traditional norms, and is very likely to change the traditional pattern of old-age support in the patrilineal rural society. Using data from a 2005 survey, "Shenzhen Rural-Urban Migrants," the paper analyzes the relationship between gender of married migrants and their provision of financial support to their noncoresiding parents after migration. The results show that females are likely to give their parents-in-law more financial support, but both male and female migrants provide more financial support to their natal parents after migration. It indicates that the traditional pattern of old-age support is still dominant, but out-migration of rural females tends to shrink the gender difference. The article also discusses how these findings relate to current and future problems of old-age security and son preference in rural China during the process of rural-urban migration.