Start

2023-04-28
11:00 AM

End

2023-04-28
12:00 PM

Location

Online Event

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Event details

Talk Title:  Cultural Change and Policy Implementation—How did China Promote Later Marriage in the 1970s?

Guest speaker: Dr. Yi Chen, Associate Professor, the School of Entrepreneurship and Management, Shanghai Tech University

Host: Dr. Camila Saez Müller, Assistant Professor of Economics at Duke Kunshan University

Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Friday, April 28, 2023

Venue: IB 1050 

Zoom ID: 94787522440  Passcode: DKUECON

Abstract:   

In many scenarios, traditional customs are important obsolesces to achieve a certain policy goal. I show in this study a novel approach that culture change can take effect—it can serve as a catalyst for policy implementation and improve policy effectiveness. China’s experience in promoting later marriage in rural areas in the 1970s provides unique insights into this question. Starting from the early 1970s, the Chinese government initiated a policy called “later, long, fewer,” where “later” refers to later marriage. However, the policy was against a traditional preference for early marriage and more children in rural China. Coincidentally, there were a group of special people residing in rural villages at that time—the sent-down youths (SDYs). From 1968 to 1977, about 16 million SDYs were mandated to relocate from urban cities to rural villages. SDYs generally got married late for historical reasons and held more developed gender norms. Therefore, they became natural role models for later marriage and help to break traditional rural culture. I found women in rural counties that received more SDYs were more responsive to the “later, longer, fewer” campaign. They were also more likely to support gender equity and independence from traditional families. My findings contribute to the understanding of policy effectiveness.

Bio: Yi Chen is an Associate Professor in the School of Entrepreneurship and Management at Shanghai Tech University. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2015. His research has appeared in the Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Development Economics, American Economic Review, between other.