Abstract:

Reproductive behavior is a joint decision of a married couple, and the two parties assume different roles and face different costs and utility in the process of reproduction. Therefore, there may be systematic differences in fertility willingness of couples as well as their influential factors. By a SUR regression analysis based on the data of 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper compares and examines whether and how couples differ in their willingness to have children. The results show that husbands have higher fertility preference than wives, and there are differences and similarities among factors respectively influencing them. While family income, number of children, and the concept of family reproduction will influence the couple in the same way, some factors including age and individual income only have significant impact on the husband or the wife, and other factors influence the couple with different degrees. In addition, there is a mutual influence between the fertility willingness of the couple. The above results show the necessity of studying fertility willingness from the perspective of a couple rather than a husband or a wife.

Key words: fertility willingness, couple, gender difference