title: Urban-rural and educational differentials in marital status in China.
abstract: Since 1950, laws aimed at delaying marriage have been 1 of the major means of slowing population growth in China, where marriage is nearly universal.  Age at marriage has risen in recent decades, but not to the same extent in all localities.  This article uses cross-tabulated data from China's 1982 census to assess the effects of urban-rural residence and educational level on the ages at which men and women have been marrying.  The data also reveal the effects of residence and education on widowhood, divorce, and current marital status.  As expected, exposure to development, indicated by urban residence and higher education, is associated with later marriage, but it also increases the likelihood of ever marrying, especially for men.  Women's tendency to seek social mobility by marrying men from economically more developed areas results in bachelorhood for a substantial percentage of rural men, especially those who are illiterate.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia; D002681:China; D003710:Demography; D003906:Developing Countries; D004243:Divorce; D004467:Economics; D004522:Educational Status; D005202:Asia, Eastern; D005843:Geography; D017533:Marital Status; D008393:Marriage; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011158:Population Growth; D011336:Probability; D012106:Research; D012424:Rural Population; D012922:Social Change; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014505:Urban Population; D017805:Widowhood
keywords: Asia; China; Demographic Factors; Developing Countries; Divorce; Eastern Asia; Economic Development; Economic Factors; Educational Status; Geographic Factors; Marital Status; Marriage; Marriage Age--men; Marriage Age--women; Marriage Patterns; Nuptiality; Population; Population Characteristics; Population Dynamics; Population Growth; Probability; Research Methodology; Rural Population; Social Change; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; Statistical Studies; Studies; Urban Population; Widowed