The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan

As sex ratio imbalances have become a problem in an increasing number of countries, it is important to understand their consequences. With the defeat of the Kuomintang Party in China, more than one million soldiers and civilians, mainly young males, retreated to Taiwan in the late 1940s. Initially,...

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Autores principales: Chang, Simon, Zhang, Xiaobo
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153954
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author Chang, Simon
Zhang, Xiaobo
author_browse Chang, Simon
Zhang, Xiaobo
author_facet Chang, Simon
Zhang, Xiaobo
author_sort Chang, Simon
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description As sex ratio imbalances have become a problem in an increasing number of countries, it is important to understand their consequences. With the defeat of the Kuomintang Party in China, more than one million soldiers and civilians, mainly young males, retreated to Taiwan in the late 1940s. Initially, the soldiers from mainland China were not allowed to marry. The ban was relaxed in 1959, however, suddenly flooding the marriage market with a large number of eligible bachelors. The operational ratio of males to females at marriageable age peaked at nearly 1.2 in the 1960s. Using data from multiple sources, we find that during times of high marriage competition, young men are more likely to become entrepreneurs, work longer hours, save more, and amass more assets. The findings highlight the important role of biological forces in shaping human economic behavior.
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spelling CGSpace1539542025-11-06T06:18:36Z The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan Chang, Simon Zhang, Xiaobo sex ratio entrepreneurship gender demography As sex ratio imbalances have become a problem in an increasing number of countries, it is important to understand their consequences. With the defeat of the Kuomintang Party in China, more than one million soldiers and civilians, mainly young males, retreated to Taiwan in the late 1940s. Initially, the soldiers from mainland China were not allowed to marry. The ban was relaxed in 1959, however, suddenly flooding the marriage market with a large number of eligible bachelors. The operational ratio of males to females at marriageable age peaked at nearly 1.2 in the 1960s. Using data from multiple sources, we find that during times of high marriage competition, young men are more likely to become entrepreneurs, work longer hours, save more, and amass more assets. The findings highlight the important role of biological forces in shaping human economic behavior. 2012 2024-10-01T13:58:35Z 2024-10-01T13:58:35Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153954 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Chang, Simon; Zhang, Xiaobo. 2012. The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1203. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153954
spellingShingle sex ratio
entrepreneurship
gender
demography
Chang, Simon
Zhang, Xiaobo
The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
title The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
title_full The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
title_fullStr The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
title_full_unstemmed The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
title_short The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
title_sort economic consequences of excess men evidence from a natural experiment in taiwan
topic sex ratio
entrepreneurship
gender
demography
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153954
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