Marital house and marriage: evidence from micro-level data

• Date: 05 October 2023
• Pages: 291-312
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-06-2023-0079
• Published date: 05 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Property management & built environment,Real estate & property,Housing markets
• Author: XiaoJun Yuan,Aslihan Gizem Korkmaz,Haigang Zhou

Marital house and marriage:

evidence from micro-level data

XiaoJun Yuan

School of Public Policy and Administration, Northwestern Polytechnical University,

Xi’an, China

Aslihan Gizem Korkmaz

Barowsky School of Business, Dominican University of California, San Rafael,

California, USA, and

Haigang Zhou

Department of Finance, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Abstract

Purpose –In China, having a home before getting married is viewed as being a crucialindicator of

the sincerity of romance. Despite recent increases in housing costs, men who have their homes ready

for marriage stand out in the marriage market. This study aims to explore the association between

readiness to marry, marriage age and the home that men purchase prior to marriage using the

China Labor-force Dynamics Survey, the f‌irst countrywide follow-up surveywith the theme of labor

force.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors suggest new standards for determining the marital

residence. In addition, contrary to the existingliterature, which focuses on “Sheng Nu”(women who do not

marry by the traditionalmarriage age in China), the authors focus on “Sheng Nan”(men who do not marry by

the traditionalmarriage age in China).

Findings –The results show that men who own a house before marriageare reluctant to get married. The

authors document robust evidence that the preexistence of the marital house decreases the willingness to

marry and postponesthe marriage date, regardless of locationand time.

Originality/value –The authors document robust evidence that the preexistence of the marital house

decreasesthe willingness to marry and postpones the marriage date, regardlessof locationand time.

Keywords Marriage, Homeownership, Homeowner, Marital house, Marriage age, Willingness to marry

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

In China, housingis not an indicator of wealth. Instead,it is a symbol of social status andthe

materialization of a family’s belief that people’s job satisfaction and productivity at work

depend on theiroverall contentment withlife. Housing plays an importantrole in marriage. It

is a widely accepted custom for parents to prepare a house for their son’s marriage (Botton,

1989;Li and Lavely,1995;Yi et al.,1990). Although a vast number of studiessuggest that the

events of leaving parents or getting married inf‌luence the choice of housing tenure

(Hendershottet al.,2009), others posit that homeownership determines the decision to marry

(Mulder and Wagner, 2001). We believe that a deeper understanding of the relationship

Funding: Xiaojun Yuan acknowledges f‌inancial support provided by the China Scholarship Fund.

Competing Interests: None.

Marital house

and marriage

291

Received13 June 2023

Revised6 September 2023

Accepted13 September 2023

InternationalJournal of Housing

Marketsand Analysis

Vol.18 No. 1, 2025

pp. 291-312

© Emerald Publishing Limited

1753-8270

DOI 10.1108/IJHMA-06-2023-0079

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/1753-8270.htm

between homeownership and marriage will shed lighton marriage sustainabilityand explain

housingprice changes.

This paper explores the impact of homeownership on marriage. The literature on

marriageand family is divided into two schoolsof thought. On the one hand, homeownership

may improve the chances of marriage asit contributes to a higher quality oflife for married

couples (Grinstein-Weiss et al.,2011). On the other hand,it may pose a barrier to marriage as

homeowners look for partners with comparable wealth and social status (Edin and Reed,

2005). Using data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), this paper

investigates the relationship between a house built or bought for marriage before a man is

married and his propensity to marry. The retrospective documents of households provide

additional evidence regarding the relationship between homeownership and marriage. We

compare “ShengNan”(men who do not marry by the traditional marriage age in China) and

“other men”as opposed to the existingliterature, which focuses onlyon “Sheng Nu”(women

who do not marry by the traditional marriage age in China). We also offer evidence on the

care of the older youthas we study how a house prepared by parents fortheir son’smarriage

affectshis marriage decision.

This study provides new evidenceon factors inf‌luencing marriage and family formation.

The results have social implications for stimulating marriage rate, which has been the

Chinese Government’s main challenge in tackling the decreased fertility rate. In many

countries that share orientalculture, marriage is the foundation of birth. But in recent years,

younger people in these countries have been increasingly reluctant to get married and the

birth rate has plummeted. The results also offer policy implications for the government on

regulation of the real estate market, where soaring home prices negatively impact younger

people’s attitudestoward marriage.

2. Literature review

2.1 Importance of homeownership

Becoming a homeowner is an important step in life, particularly for marriage. The

transition to f‌irst-time homeownership usually coincides with marriage (Mulder, 2006).

Homeownership displays social status and it has emotional value for many people. Rohe

and Stegman (1994) indicate that homeowners experience a signif‌icant increase in life

satisfaction. Moreover, homeownership brings cohesion and stability, at least in part by

promoting social interaction within a neighborhood (Manturuk et al., 2010). Levy and

Michel (1991) and Smits and Mulder (2008) assert that homeownership is the most desired

consumption aspiration and wealth acquisition. Homeownership is not only the most

important component of family wealth but it also provides security. Posel (2006) tells the

story of “Marriage at the drop of a hat”. According to this story, women in South Africa

choose their prospective husband by picking up a hat left by an unknown man. The

author explains that this tradition is an example of so-called “house marriages”,thatis

marrying to secure a house rather than love. Empirical evidence in the literature shows

that parents with a son buy a house to signal wealth and social status in the marriage

market (Zhang et al., 2012).

2.2 Economic theory of marriage

Marriage is a complex system that not only relates to economic factors but to love, loyalty,

belief and commitment. Goldstein and Kenney (2001) and Goode (1982) say marriage is a

structure of norms, values, laws and a wide range of social pressures. Grossbard-

Schnechtman (1982) believesit can be viewed as an expression of loyalty to the institution of

marriage in general and to one’s spousein particular.

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