Shuzhuo Li

Gender differences in child survival in contemporary rural china: A county study

Using data from a survey of deaths of children less than 5 years old conducted in 1997 in a county in Shaanxi Province, China, this paper examines gender differences in child survival in contemporary rural China. First, excess female child mortality in the county in 1994-96 is described, followed by an analysis of the mechanisms whereby the excess mortality takes place, and the underlying social, economic and cultural factors behind it. Excess female child mortality in this county is probably caused primarily by discrimination against girls in curative health care rather than in preventive health care or food and nutrition. Although discrimination occurs in all kinds of families and communities, discrimination itself is highly selective, and is primarily against girls with some specific characteristics. It is argued that the excess mortality of girls is caused fundamentally by the strong son preference in traditional Chinese culture, but exacerbated by the government-guided family planning programme and regulations. This suggests that it is crucial to raise the status of girls within the family and community so as to mitigate the pressures to discriminate against girls in Chinas low fertility regime. Finally, the possible policy options to improve female child survival in contemporary rural China are discussed.

Marriage form and age at first marriage: A comparative study in three counties in contemporary rural China

Abstract Using data from two surveys in three counties in which the prevalence of uxorilocal marriage differs greatly, this article analyzes the effects of marriage form, individual, family, and social factors on age at first marriage and spousal age difference. The results show that, under the Chinese patrilincal joint family system, compared with the dominant virilocal marriage form, uxorilocal marriage significantly lowers womens age at first marriage, increases mens age at First marriage, and consequently increases spousal age difference. Education, number of brothers, adoption status, marriage arrangement, and marriage circle also significantly affect age at first marriage for both genders. Age at first marriage and spousal age difference vary greatly among the three counties. These findings address the process and consequences of change in rural family and marriage customs during the current demographic and social transition and may help to promote later marriage and later childbearing under the present low fertility conditions in rural China.

Intergenerational Support and Self-rated Health of the Elderly in Rural China: An Investigation in Chaohu, Anhui Province

Data from the survey “Welfare of Elderly in Anhui Province, China” conducted in October 2001 by the Institute for Population and Development Studies of Xi’an Jiaotong University are used in a logistic regression analysis to determine the effects of intergenerational financial, instrumental and emotional support on the self-rated health of Chinese rural elderly. The results show that financial support, both received and provided, as well as mutual emotional support between parents and children have positive impacts on self-rated health of the elderly. However, instrumental support, both received and provided, exhibits no relationship with the self-rated health of the elderly. Socio-demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, as well as the health status of the elderly are also found to affect their selfrated health.

The impact on rural livelihoods and ecosystem services of a major relocation and settlement program: A case in Shaanxi, China

China’s largest-ever resettlement program is underway, aiming to restore ecosystems and lift ecosystem service providers out of the poverty trap and into sustainable livelihoods. We examine the impact of the relocation and settlement program (RSP) to date, reporting on an ecosystem services (ES) assessment and a 1400-household survey. The RSP generally achieves the goals of ES increase and livelihood restore. In biophysical terms, the RSP improves water quality, sediment retention, and carbon sequestration. In social terms, resettled households so far report transformation of livelihoods activities from traditional inefficient agricultural and forest production to non-farm activities. Increased income contributes to decrease the poverty rate and improve resettled households’ living condition and standard. Meanwhile, the RSP decreases households’ dependence on ES in terms of provisioning services. Difficulty and challenge also showed up subsequently after relocation. A major current challenge is to enable poorer households to move, while providing greater follow-up support to relocated households. While the program is unique to China, it illuminates widespread opportunities for addressing environmental and poverty-related concerns in a rapidly changing world.

Son preference and the marriage squeeze in China

In China strong son preference and discrimination against girls have resulted in male squeeze in the marriage market. Using projection data and marriage information in 2000 census we devise a series of indexes taking account of both first marriage and remarriage measure the extent of male squeeze in Chinas market from 2001 through 2050 and analyze the impact of son preference and remarriage on marriage squeeze. The results show that the index of potential sex ratio of first marriage partners used by Tuljapurkar et al. (1995) without taking account of the relative numbers of males and females in the baseline year underestimate the male squeeze extent. After adjusting the index there will be server male squeeze from 2000 onwards in China and after 2013 annual proportion of excess males hold above 10% and 15% during 2015 to 2045. Annual excess males are 1.2 million. Still the SRBs of the birth cohorts born after 2000 exert significant influence on the marriage market. To the total marriage market remarriage (to first married spouse) takes up only a small proportion of the total first marriage market but it exerts great impact on the numbers and proportions of excess males. (authors)