Relative earnings of husbands and wives in urban China

This paper studies the relative contribution of Chinese husbands and wives to the family income in the process of economic transition. We find that the role of urban husbands as the main financial supporters of their families becomes relatively more important during economic transition. We argue that this trend may have reflected the restoration of the functions of household production and labor market in the process of economic transition. This restoration allows households to allocate time, effort and human capital investment for each household member and for each household and market activity in a more efficient way.