Gaining Shanghai Residency through Educational Assortative Marriage in Shanghai

• In Event: 494 - Regular Session. Interracial Marriage/Assortive Mating

Abstract

Shanghai is the most developed city in China and attracts millions of internal migrants with various educational backgrounds from other provinces. Household registration system (i.e., Hukou system) is the most salient stratification mechanism in China. Most studies on Hukou-based stratification focus on differences in employment, income, and subjective well-being between natives and non-Hukou migrants. Despite intermarriage being a prominent indicator of intergroup relations and migrant assimilation, there is, however, little research on Hukou intermarriage. Using a most recent, representative sample of the post-'80s generation currently living in Shanghai, this paper evaluates how Hukou intersects with educational attainment to shape assortative marriage patterns. We find that for both Hukou holders and migrants, as their education increases, they are more likely to marry a spouse with Shanghai Hukou, suggesting a generalized penalty associated with the lack of Shanghai Hukou in the marriage market. In addition, intermarriage primarily occurs when spouses with a Shanghai Hukou marry up in education. Our research indicates that Hukou is an important social stratifier in contemporary China that also shapes marriage market conditions and individual mating choices.

Authors

• Yue Qian, The Ohio State University

• Zhenchao Qian, The Ohio State University