Does spouse's parental housing support affect one's happiness: Evidence from China

Objective: The study empirically investigates the relationship between spouse's parental housing support and one's happiness.Methods: Leveraging three waves of data from the Chinese General Social Survey, this study employs a methodological approach that encompasses the utilization of an ordinal logit model, ordinary least squares regression, selection on observables to measure selection on unobservables, and Lewbel's instrumental variable method.Results: We find that spouse's parental housing support has an asymmetric association with one's happiness within family: wife's parental housing support is not associated with her husband's happiness, while husband's parental housing support is positively associated with his wife's happiness. This positive association is notably pronounced among women from rural backgrounds and younger women residing in urban areas.Conclusion: Our findings contradict the assertion that women have achieved economic and psychological independence from men and men's families. It elucidates that women continue to rely on the conventional patriarchal system for enhanced welfare. Specifically, women, particularly those residing in rural areas, and younger urban cohorts continue to anticipate their spouses' parental housing support in contemporary China.