Family Wealth, Marriage Entry, and Living Arrangements of Newlyweds in China

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Abstract

Prior research finds that individuals’ wealth facilitates marriage entry. Marriage formation, however, is an intergenerational process that involves both young adults and their parents. We examine how natal family wealth affects marriage formation behaviors and whether the effect differs by gender. Using data from four waves of China Family Panel Studies, we consider transitions into two distinctive marriage forms, marriage at the parental home and marriage outside of the parental home. Event history models suggest that family wealth facilitates men’s transition into first marriage, net of their own socioeconomic status. Competing risk models further show that family wealth increases men’s and women’s chances of marrying at the parental home relative to marrying outside of the parental home, net of their own socioeconomic status. In an era of rising wealth inequalities, our findings underscore the role of intergenerational transfer of wealth in producing diverging life chances of young adults.

Authors

• Donghui Wang, Princeton University

• Cheng Cheng, Singapore Management University