The Residential Choices of Siblings in China

Shangyi Mao, Xiamen University
Brett Graham, Xiamen University

In the last three decades, China has undergone a huge transformation, but family is still the main source of support for Chinese elderly. Furthermore, families are the main care providers for most children. The geographic distance between adult children and their parents is an important determinant of the children’s ability to fulfill their elder care responsibilities and get childcare and daily chores assistance from their parents. We formulate a model to analyze how parental care burden, parental help and family structure interact in affecting children's residential decisions. Our main result is that the presence of a sibling has decisive impact on children's mobility, siblings are more likely to live further away from their parents than only children. Using data from the 2006 Chinese General Social Survey, we find evidence that confirms these patterns. Moreover, the sibship sex composition is important for adult children to make location decisions.