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MULAN in the name: Causes and consequences of gendered Chinese names

Yana Huang and Tianyu Wang

China Economic Review, 2022, vol. 75, issue C

Abstract: Drawing on data from the 2005 China mini-census, this study aims to measure the genderedness of Chinese names and explore the determinants of gendered names and their impacts on labor market performance. The Gendered Name Index we constructed shows that male and female names have been converging over the past century, mainly attributed to the defeminization of female names. A regression analysis reveals that the gender characteristics of Chinese names are highly correlated with parental characteristics, the strength of kinship networks, and local socioeconomic conditions. Additionally, the genderedness of a name has mild but statistically significant effects on labor market performance. Notably, a masculine name will increase men's earnings, while a feminine name will prevent women from entering the labor market and reduce their earnings. These findings support both gender identity and gender discrimination mechanisms.

Keywords: Gender-specific names; Culture; Gender gap; Gender role identity; Chinese names (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J20 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chieco:v:75:y:2022:i:c:s1043951x22001092

DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2022.101851

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China Economic Review is currently edited by B.M. Fleisher, K. X. D. Huang, M.E. Lovely, Y. Wen, X. Zhang and X. Zhu

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