The Changes in the Impact of Higher Education on Marriage and Fertility:Viewing from the Heterogeneity of Family Origin
It is of great significance to examine the potential changes in factors influencing marriage and reproductive behavior in the era of sustained marriage delay and fertility decline in China.Using data from the 2006～2021 CGSS,the article explores the potential changes in the effect of higher education on individuals'marriage and childbearing behavior,with special focus on the heterogeneity arising from the enlarging variation in higher education graduates'family origin.It finds that having higher education significantly delays one's age at first marriage,and the postponement effect strengthens among younger cohorts.In addition,having higher education also tends to reduce individuals'fertility,although this negative effect attenuates somewhat among younger cohorts.The negative impact of higher education on fertility is greater for those from lower social class families,and it increases significantly for the higher education graduates from higher social class families in the cohort born in the 1980s.The study highlights the importance to taking the heterogeneity and changes in the mechanism of delaying marriage and low fertility into consideration in making family support policies.
Higher EducationMarriage and Childbearing BehaviorCohort VariationHeterogenous Treatment Effects
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NSTL
万方数据
