Marriage Squeeze and Intergenerational Transfers in Contemporary Rural China: Evidence from Yi County of Anhui Province

Using data from a survey of four towns in Yi County of Anhui Province taken in 2008, this paper analyzes the effects of sons’ marital status on intergenerational transfers, including financial transfers, instrument transfers, and emotional transfers provided to parents, as well as co-residence arrangements. Random-effect regression analysis showed that son’s marital status has strong effects on financial transfers to and co-residence with parents. Compared with married sons who received more marriage help with marriage costs from their parents, older unmarried sons (so-called forced bachelors) transfer less finance to their parents, and are more likely to live with their parents. Parents’ intergenerational transfers to sons, as well as the parents’ own needs and sons’ capability all affect the intergenerational transfers from sons. In addition, whether they co-reside with parents also influences parents’ financial transfers from their sons. These results show that both theories of exchange and altruism are simultaneously relevant in the context of the marriage squeeze of contemporary rural China.