Table of Content

29 July 2020, Volume 44 Issue 4

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How Does Internet Use Affect Life Satisfaction of the Chinese Elderly？

Du Peng,Wang Bin

2020, 44(4):  3-17. 

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Previous researches generally indicate that internet use has an important impact on life satisfaction of the elderly, but this is mostly limited to the discussion of direct impact and from a technical perspective, and ignores the role of the elderly and its influencing mechanism. Based on classical theories, this paper considers the role of the elderly and empirically studies the relationship between internet use and life satisfaction of the elderly people. The results show that under the current level of internet use of the elderly, internet use significantly improves the life satisfaction of the elderly. Community participation plays a mediating role in this process. The use of internet of the elderly Chinese may be a positive choice behavior, which can enhance the social capital of the elderly and improve their life satisfaction. In order to improve the elderlys quality of life in digital times, the society should establish a new concept of internet use for the elderly and improve their digital integration.

Cognitive Function Transition and Risk Factors for Older Adults in China

Liu Xiaoting,Chen Bolin

2020, 44(4):  18-32. 

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The older adults are suffering from declining cognitive function with the rapid population ageing. On the basis of 2011 and 2014 CLHLS database, this research explores the transition of cognitive function by age and gender, using the method of continuous time homogeneous Markov process. Risk factors affecting cognitive function are identified. The size of elderly population with cognitive impairment at four different levels is estimated and projected for the decade of 2015-2024. The probability of cognitive impairment decreases among older people, and the decline is most significant among the oldest old. Being male, having higher level education, doing persistent exercise, participating social activity, and better health status are associated with a relatively slow decline in the cognitive function. It is projected that there would be 27.85 million elderly population over 65 years old with cognitive impairment by 2024. In addition, this research provides the basic methodology for need assessment of long-term care services for older adults with dementia.

The Impacts of Grandchild Care on Mental Health among Chinese Older Adults: The Mediating Effects of Social Networks

Tang Dan,Sun Hui,Xu Ying

2020, 44(4):  33-45. 

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Using the data of 2014 baseline survey of the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (CLASS), which provides a sample of Chinese older adults who have grandchild younger than 18 years old, this study examines the associations among grandchild care, social networks, and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults. The older adults are divided into three groups basing on the frequency of grandchild care provision, including ‘no care’,‘providing care occasionally’ and ‘providing care frequently’ respectively. The mediating and moderating effects of social networks between grandchild care and depressive symptoms are tested. Results show that older adults who provide grandchild care report larger social networks and better mental health than those who dont provide grandchild (reference group). After controlling other variables, the older adults who provide grandchild care occasionally benefit more than those who take care of grandchild frequently. Grandchild care is related to larger social networks, and the association between grandchild care and depressive symptoms is fully mediated by social networks.

Negative Population Growth in the World: Characteristics, Trends, and Responses

Tao Tao,Jin Guangzhao,Zhang Xianling

2020, 44(4):  46-61. 

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Using the WPP2019 data, this article investigates negative population growth across the world during 1950-2018, and compares negative population growth between China and typical countries with identical origin point model. 107 countries (regions) in the world experienced negative population growth in 1950-2018, of which 20 were caused by the inherent mechanism of population. These 20 countries are all from Europe except Japan, and have experienced 19-year longest negative growth duration on average, and confront low fertility and population ageing. Compared to Germany, Hungary, and Russia, negative population growth occurs later in Japan and China, exhibiting a pattern of rapid development, long-term acceleration and weak resilience. In addition, the working-age population decrease earlier than the total population in Japan and China, ageing is severer, and the proportions of children aged 0-14 are lower. It is of growing significance to explore the new rules of population development, policy responses and long-term planning as soon as possible in the negative population growth era.

Can Economic Growth Be Sustained during Population Decline?

Liu Houlian,Yuan Xin

2020, 44(4):  62-73. 

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Based on World Bank population and economic data for 13 countries, this paper explores how economic growth might be affected by population declines, and whether and how economic growth can be sustained when population decreases. International experience shows that economic development can still be achieved during population decline. Analyses from the perspectives of consumption and production suggest that, overall, the negative impact of population decline on economic growth is mild in the short term but will be larger in the long term. In the future, to better deal with the challenges brought by the population decline, we should develop labor resources, improve the efficiency of factor allocation, promote scientific and technological innovation, take advantage of the large population size and the regional discrepancies in development, explore both international and domestic markets, improve population policies, and support further research on population decline.

Impacts of Fighting COVID-19 on China's Population Flows: An Empirical Study Based on Baidu Migration Big Data

Yang Mian,Xie Zeyu

2020, 44(4):  74-88. 

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China's economic recovery relies on the coordination between the pandemic control and socioeconomic development. Based on the Baidu migration big data, this study employs difference-in-difference model to explore the impacts of pandemic prevention and control measures on the population flow at different stages. The results show that the unconventional measures proposed in the early stage have effectively controlled the population flow, with the average intensity of urban population inflow, outflow and intra-city flow reduced by 71.21%, 72.62%, and 45.99% respectively. After the resumption of work and production, the population flow began to rebound, with the inter-city flow more than doubled. The pandemic risk level is a vital factor affecting the resumption of population flow in China. Therefore, differentiated accurate prevention and control measures should be adopted to create favorable conditions for promoting economic development in the era of regular pandemic prevention and control.

The Impact of Dialect on Inter-Provincial Migration in China

Huang Zongye,Yang Jing

2020, 44(4):  89-101. 

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Based on the 2000 and 2010 census data, this paper uses a modified gravity model to empirically examine the impact of dialect on inter-provincial migration in China. Our results show that sharing a common dialect has a significant impact on interprovincial migration. Migrant workers tend to move to places with similar dialects and cultural background. We also find that the influence of dialect has decreased over time, and the impact of distance has also dropped due to the improvements in transportation infrastructures. Moreover, we find that the popularity of dialect constrains the inter-provincial labor migration, while the prevalence of mandarin largely eliminates the communication barriers, facilitating the reallocation of labor. Our results suggest that promoting mandarin would encourage population migration and improve the allocation of human capital across regions.

Can Population Agglomeration Improve Regional Individual Human Capital?

Wang Xiaolu,Yang Dongliang

2020, 44(4):  102-115. 

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As the quantitative demographic dividend is diminishing, improving labor quality and individual human capital become the key to maintain the highquality development of China's economy. In addition to increasing labor supply, population agglomeration is an efficient way of improving individual human capital through the mechanisms of knowledge spillover and employment competition. Based on the theoretical model of urban individual human capital and population agglomeration, this paper empirically examines the impact of population agglomeration on individual human capital using Chinese provincial data from 2000 to 2015. Population agglomeration could significantly improve urban individual human capital, in a sense that a higher degree of population agglomeration is associated with a larger effect on individual human capital. These findings are consistent with the agglomerative economics theory. The results of panel threshold regression show that the effect of population agglomeration on individual human capital could be significantly enhanced when knowledge spillover and employment competition exceed the threshold value.

Prosocial Behavior of Children from Distressed Families and Its Influencing Mechanism: Based on Families with Severely Disabled Parents

He Hong,Yan Chenyu,Zhang Jiao

2020, 44(4):  116-128. 

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Children from distressed families show poor social adaptation, and are more vulnerable to peer bullying and likely to experience social adjustment problems. Based on the survey data of “Research on Children's Health Problems in Distressed Families”, this paper focuses on the prosocial behavior of children with disabled or severely disabled parents, and explores the causes of their prosocial behavior problems from the perspective of family function. The results show that children with disabled parents perform worse prosocial behavior than ordinary children. Further analysis suggests that having parents with severe disabilities has negative impacts on children's nutritional diets, family living environment and family education. The negatively affected family education status further leads to children's worse prosocial behavior. Therefore, we should focus on the implementation of “family responsibilities” for children from distressed families, improve their family functions, thus promote their social adaptation and ensure their comprehensive development.