Women's Status,Household Decision-Making,and Left-Behind Children
The household registration system is often cited as the root cause of left-behind children in rural areas.However,despite its relaxation,many left-behind children remain.This paper examines the impact of women's family status on the incidence of left-behind children among migrant workers,using data from the 2018 China Migrants Dynamic Survey(CMDS).An instrumental variable is constructed based on the proportion of women who received the"March 8th Red Banner"award at the county level in 1979 and 1983.The results show that higher women's status significantly reduces the likelihood of children being left behind.This finding holds across various robustness tests.Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the improved status of women significantly reduces the incidence of left-behind girls but has no significant effect on boys.Mechanism analysis suggests that higher women's status reduces the likelihood of left-behind children through greater attention to child development,fewer births,and reduced working hours of family members.This study provides new insights into the issue of left-behind children amid the ongoing reform of the hukou system and offers policy recommendations to mitigate this problem.
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
