 Fertility discrimination in the Chinese labor market: Evidence from a correspondence study and an employer surveyQingxiao Li and Di Xiao Labour Economics, 2025, vol. 92, issue C Abstract: This paper examines fertility discrimination in the Chinese labor market following the implementation of the three-child policy and extended parental leave provisions. We conducted a correspondence study and submitted 18,728 resumes to 4,682 entry-level job postings on a prominent online job board, with randomized applicant gender, marital, and parental status. Our results show that single female applicants are more likely to receive callbacks than married females, who have a higher probability of childbearing. Conversely, male applicants do not experience a similar gap based on their marital or parental status. A complementary survey of 745 hiring managers aligns with these results, with a pronounced disfavor towards married women without children, largely due to their preference for parental status and concerns about maternity leave. The survey further suggests that hiring preferences may be influenced by the managers’ own demographic and personal traits, such as gender, parental status, and time and risk preferences. Keywords: Fertility; Discrimination; Experimental economics; Correspondence study; Choice experiment; China (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:92:y:2025:i:c:s0927537124001647 DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102668 Access Statistics for this article Labour Economics is currently edited by A. Ichino More articles in Labour Economics from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.