Shaping Gender Role Attitudes: Intergenerational Impacts of Parental Occupational Differences during Adolescence
Release time：14 April 2026
Apr
03
|
Time & Date
|
10:30 am
-
12:00 pm,
April
03,
2026
(Friday)
|
| Topic | Shaping Gender Role Attitudes: Intergenerational Impacts of Parental Occupational Differences during Adolescence |
| Time&Date | 10:30 am-12:00 pm, April 3, 2026 (Friday) |
| Venue | Room 804, Teaching Complex D Building |
| Speaker |
Shu Cai Jinan University |
| Abstract | This paper examines how the relative occupational status of mothers to fathers shapes individuals’ gender role attitudes. By leveraging the State-Owned Enterprise reform in China during the 1990s as a source of exogenous variation in parental occupational status, we employ an instrumental variable approach to identify the consequential impacts. Our findings reveal that an improved maternal occupational status compared to fathers leads to the development of more egalitarian gender role attitudes among their children. Moreover, for the offspring, their marriage matching patterns in terms of occupational status are strongly shaped, as indicated by the increased differences in occupational status between women and men. We further provide evidence on potential channels and highlight the role of intra-household bargaining power. Overall, this study underscores the importance of family socialization in fostering egalitarian gender role attitudes among the next generation. |
| Biography | Prof. Shu Cai is currently a Professor at the Institute of Economics and Social Research, Jinan University. His research fields cover development economics, labor economics and health economics, with a focus on topics including population migration, poverty issues, rural finance, healthy aging and subjective well-being. His recent research mainly focuses on the employment and social integration of floating population, the role of returnees in rural revitalization, as well as health behaviors and welfare security under the background of population aging. His research work has been published in leading international academic journals including Journal of Development Economics, European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Population Economics, and Journal of Comparative Economics. Prof. Cai is in charge of a number of research projects, including General Program and Youth Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Innovation Fund for Higher Education of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education. He has also received awards such as the "Excellent Doctoral Dissertation in Chinese Economics" from the Contemporary Economics Foundation, the Gregory Chow Best Paper Nomination from the Chinese Economists Society (North America), and the Excellent Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences of Guangdong Province. |
