Friday, December 6, 2013

Presenter: Zheng Mu, Sociology
Faculty Discussant: Emily Wilcox, Asian Languages & Cultures

Abstract:
“Context Matters: Residential Concentration and Marital Behaviors of Muslim Chinese”
This paper examines how marital behaviors of Hui Muslims respond to varying conditions of local ethnic marriage markets. Specifically, we explore marriage patterns indicating deviations from two Islamic norms: universal marriage and endogamy. We measure marriage market conditions by local concentrations of Hui and estimate discrete-time competing-risks models of marital outcomes using China 2005 1% inter-census survey. Results show that when Hui concentration is higher, Hui tend to have higher marriage rates, marry earlier and more endogamously. Within the two norms, women are constrained more strictly by the norm of endogamy compared to men. While higher education can bring women some freedom to stay single, it is not effective to promote exogamy for them.

Bio:

Zheng Mu is a PhD candidate in sociology. Her research interests include quantitative methodology for social science, marriage and family, fertility, gender inequality, subjective well-being, and contemporary China.