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

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dc.creatorChang, Simon
dc.creatorZhang, Xiaobo
dc.date2012
dc.date2024-10-01T13:58:35Z
dc.date2024-10-01T13:58:35Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:17:33Z
dc.descriptionAs 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.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/153954
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/100164
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceChang, 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
dc.subjectsex ratio
dc.subjectentrepreneurship
dc.subjectgender
dc.subjectdemography
dc.titleThe Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan
dc.typeWorking Paper

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