The Consequences of Having a Son on Family Wealth in Urban C hina

Due to the influence of traditional culture, housing is regarded as a status good and plays an important role in improving male competitiveness in the marriage market in C hina. Using data from a recent household survey, we find that urban families with a son are more likely to own a house, with a larger size, and at an earlier date. With the booming of the C hinese housing market since the late 1990s as background, having a son thus generates a substantial effect on family wealth through the channel of house ownership. Using the gender of the first‐born child as an instrument, our estimation shows that families with a son have 188 thousand RMB   yuan higher housing wealth on average.