Individual vs. Social Motives in Identity Choice: Theory and Evidence from China

48 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2019 Last revised: 26 Jul 2023

See all articles by Ruixue Jia

Ruixue Jia

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - 21st Century China Center

Torsten Persson

Stockholm University - Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES); London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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Date Written: June 2019

Abstract

The same government policy that incentivizes individuals to make a certain choice can have different effects across groups due to the existence of social norms. In this paper, we study how Chinese ethnic policies that give material benefits to minorities affect ethnicity choices for children in ethnically mixed marriages. We document that, on average, such policies increase the propensity of choosing minority status for the children. Meanwhile, responses to the same policies differ widely across localities, suggesting that social norms may be important. We formalize the ethnic identity choice in a simple framework, which highlights the interaction of material benefits stemming from the ethnic policies, identity costs associated with breaking the norms of following the father's ethnicity, and social reputations altering the importance of identity costs. This framework predicts that ethnic policies should increase the propensity of breaking the norm (i.e., following the mother's ethnicity) in localities where more families follow the norm. We find support for this prediction in microdata from multiple census waves, and show that a number of alternative explanations can be ruled out. More broadly, our study serves as evidence about the interplay of individual and social motivates in shaping policy consequences, as well as evidence on the determinants of identity choice.

Suggested Citation

Jia, Ruixue and Persson, Torsten, Individual vs. Social Motives in Identity Choice: Theory and Evidence from China (June 2019). NBER Working Paper No. w26008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3412683

Ruixue Jia (Contact Author)

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - 21st Century China Center ( email )

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Torsten Persson

Stockholm University - Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES) ( email )

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London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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