Research On Ring、Marital Strategy And The Transformation Of Chinese Family Structure

The increasingly cost for building and keeping marriage relationship has becomebeing known to people. The consumption of ring can reflect the couples’ confidenceof the marriage relationship, and the determination of the commitment’s fulfilling.During1998-2008, the consumption of the ring was strongly rising, but the marriagerates didn’t corresponding go up. Conversely, marriage rate was in murky, divorce andcohabitation have been become more and more.We believe that the causes can be discovered by extending the analysis ofmarriage cost. Under the high cost of marriage, female roles are reluctant to search thepotential mates in the marriage market, and the function of the rings becomes a tool totrail and judge male’s ability of providing, combined with the deep symbolic meaningof it. Finally, we got an incessantly expanding demand for ring. The reason forfemale’s searching is costs and benefits of work-in-marriage. Such costs and benefitsmainly affected by following respects. The one is the women’s earning which comesfrom the labor market. It reduces the attractiveness of “compensation for work-inmarriage”. The second is separation of sexual and reproductive. It reduces the risk andcost of extramarital sex. Third, the breach of marriage promise was caused by men, asthey are more likely to cheat. During the early operation, the huge cost is invested bywomen, but it may not yield a return. Fourth, the gap of wealth among all men makeswomen get more “compensation for work-in-marriage” during searching the potentialmates.Changes resulting from costs and benefits of work-in-marriage not only causedchaotic phenomena in marriage market, but also has made the family structuretransform. Owning to the cost of the institution of marriage is much more expensivethan non-marital; the “couples” tend to choice the non-marital relationship to get sexand childbearing. The size of the family will get smaller and smaller, family structuretypes will become simplified, single family and dink family will be more and more.The changed cost make family service outsourcing, which make the family structurecomplicated. The self-fulfilling prophecy also fit the marriage relationship. If we want to get aperfect marriage, we inevitably need increase the investment. However, many couplescan’t afford the high investment of marriage. It is necessary to provide subsidies formarriage by government to make sure the families become more stability. We alsoneed to re-build people’s moral conception of marriage and family. Furthermore, weshould relax the government’s strict family planning limits to build a safe functioningof society.