Does intrahousehold bargaining power enhance women's marital satisfaction? A perspective from two competing forces in China

Abstract In the context of two competing forces (i.e., socioeconomic transformation vs. traditional cultural norms) influencing Chinese family and its members, the paper uses the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to empirically examine the causal relation between intrahousehold bargaining power and women's marital satisfaction. By employing an instrumental variable approach, the paper finds that intrahousehold bargaining power negatively affects women's marital satisfaction. This conclusion remains valid after performing various robustness checks. However, there are some heterogeneous effects found that the negative effect is particularly significant among those women of higher age and constrained by external traditional norms. These women are more conservative in their own thoughts and thus tend to support the traditional gender belief of “men being the masters of the family.”