RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 High Sex Ratios and Household Portfolio Choice in China
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 1217-9245R2
DO 10.3368/jhr.57.2.1217-9245R2
A1 Li, Wenchao
A1 Song, Changcheng
A1 Xu, Shu
A1 Yi, Junjian
YR 2020
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2020/01/08/jhr.57.2.1217-9245R2.abstract
AB This paper studies how high sex ratios (more men than women) affect household portfolio choice. Using data from a nationally representative Chinese household finance survey, we find that a 1 standard deviation increase in the sex ratio would raise the stock market participation rate by 2.9 percentage points or 52.2 percent for families with a son relative to families with a daughter. Our estimates imply that rising sex ratios explain around 10 percent of the significant growth in China’s stock market size in recent decades.