Effects of Children on Remarriage Prospects in China

Weixiang Luo, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Drawing on data from Chinese Longitudinal healthy Longevity Survey, this article examines the effects of having children on remarriage prospects in China from 1949 to 2002, focusing in particular on how this relationship varied across historical periods in response to shifts in state policies. Varying amounts of child-rearing cost were redistributed under different state policies, which as we show, lead to the vacillations of the effect of having children on remarriage. In addition, the analysis shows marked gender differences in the rate of remarriage. Women are generally at a disadvantage in the marriage market after marital dissolution.