Impact of Husbands’ and Wives’ Individual Bargaining Power on Household Income in Rural China

Individual bargaining power (IBP) plays a crucial role in shaping household family structure. Departing from previous studies, this study employs household panel data from rural China to construct a multidimensional IBP index that captures decision-making authority and social connections within a household, and examines its effects on household income. The results reveal that a household with higher wife’s IBP relative to husband significantly increases income from agricultural production. Nevertheless, although the use of internet enhances wives’ contribution to household wage income, both total household income and wage income decline as wives’ relative IBP increases. This indicates that wives with greater bargaining power tend to either optimize their work-life balance by reducing total working hours or allocate their limited time to higher income non-agricultural employment.