Decollectivization and Child Adoption in Rural China

Shukang Xiao and Pinghan Liang

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2025, vol. 74, issue 1, 241 - 276

Abstract: Child adoption is prevalent worldwide. Understanding the adoption behaviors of households is critical because adoption can offer children a better environment in which to grow up and significantly affect both families’ and children’s well-being. Can public policies or institutions influence the adoption behaviors of households? We explore the causal effect of the decollectivization reform on child adoption in rural China after 1978. The staggered difference-in-differences estimation demonstrates an increase in child adoption by infertile households in rural China after this land reform. The reform leads to a lower adoption probability in urban areas, suggesting that our estimate is not driven by the increased supply of adoptees resulting from the One-Child Policy. Suggestive evidence shows that decollectivization may raise the value of children by increasing the demand for old-age support and for agricultural production and by receipt of favorable redistribution of land. This indicates the importance of economic incentives in child adoption in developing countries.

Date: 2025
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