One Family Two Systems? Household Employment Strategies in Reform-Era Urban China

Robin Gauthier, Duke University
Giovanna Merli, Duke University

The structure of China’s economy and labor market has undergone dramatic changes in the last 30 years, moving from state-centered organization towards marketization. The principles governing employment and gender relations likewise changed. State sector employment remains more secure than the more lucrative market sector, yet market sector jobs do not typically offer wages high enough to support a family on a single income. In order to minimize the risk associated with market sector work while reaping the economic benefits, scholars noted the emergence of a two-system adaptation in which one spouse (typically the wife) retains employment in the state sector with the benefits it entails, while the other ventures into the market. However their findings have been limited to small, non-representative samples. We bring a dataset representative of the Shanghai population to bear on the question of whether or not spouses are specializing in state and market work.