Table of Content

29 November 2020, Volume 44 Issue 6

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Spatial Analyses of Stem Families in China：Based on 2015 One-Percent Population Sample Survey

Li Ting, Liu Tao, Liu Jiajie, Cheng Tianyi

2020, 44(6):  3-19. 

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Based on the 2015 Chinese 1% population survey, this study examines the spatial patterns of Chinese stem family and its influencing factors. It is found that there is significant heterogeneity among the distribution of stem families at the prefecture-level city with generally higher proportion of stem family in the south China and lower proportion in the north China. We further explore the spatial variation of factors affecting stem families using Geographic Weighted Regression (GWR) model. The results demonstrate that socioeconomic, demographic, and culture factors all play important roles in determining the distribution of stem families. The former two factors can exhibit opposite impact conditioned on the local culture and the development model of urbanization. Meanwhile, the impact of housing price is also divergent depending on the sensitivity of local housing market to the price change. These results suggest that the interplay of socioeconomic level, development mode, and cultural tradition ultimately shapes the pattern of Chinese stem family.

The Consumption Expenditure Pattern of Households in Urban China: A Study Focusing on Households with Older Adults

Du Yang, Wang Meiyan

2020, 44(6):  20-34. 

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Consumption demand plays an increasingly important role in China's economic growth, while it is also affected by population age structure. Using two waves of China Urban Labor Survey data, this study examines the consumption expenditure pattern of Chinese urban households and its determinants from the perspective of life cycle, focusing particularly on households with older adults. Results show that age affects both the quantity and structure of household consumption expenditure. After controlling for other factors, an older age of household head is associated with lower household consumption expenditure per capita and a lower share of consumption expenditure related to jobs, while it is related to a higher share of medical care consumption expenditure. Compared with young households, consumption expenditure per capita for households with older adults as the household heads is 8.8 and 22.5 percent lower in 2010 and 2016, respectively. Meanwhile, the share of consumption expenditure related to jobs is 12.6 and 13.2 percentage points lower, and the share of medical care consumption expenditure is 7.4 and 10.0 percentage points higher in 2010 and 2016.

The Influence of Changes in Family Structure on the Age Difference of Mortality Risk of Rural Older Adults

Wang Ping, Pan Shuang, Wang Jing, Li Yiming

2020, 44(6):  35-48. 

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This study utilizes the longitudinal survey data to investigate the age group differences in the impact of changes in family structure on the mortality risk of rural older adults. The results show that ‘always being in a linear family’ significantly reduced the mortality risk of older adults. ‘Changing from a linear family to a one-person family or a conjugal nuclear family’ resultes in a decline of the mortality risk of the older adults under age 75 while lead to an increase after controlling the intergenerational support and health condition. It also increases the mortality risk of the older adults above age 75. ‘Changing from a one-person family or a conjugal nuclear family to a linear family’ significantly reduces the mortality risk of the older adults above age 75. The results reveal that Chinese society is in a period of transition and coexistence of traditional and relatively modern family structures. Changes in family structure based on respect and care for life that meet the multi-dimensional care needs of the older adults benefit the health and life expectancy of older adults. Supporting the health development of younger older people under the changes of family structure will also lead to better health conditions when they grow much older in the future, thus further promote the realization of a healthy aging society in China.

Effect of Home-based Care Services on the Quality of Life for the Elderly in China's Urban and Rural Areas:Analysis Based on CLASS Data

Wang Yongmei, Li Yanan, Xiao Ying

2020, 44(6):  49-62. 

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To evaluate the influences of home-based elder care services on the quality of life for the elderly, the paper constructs related indexes and analyzes the data from CLASS with Propensity Score Matching Method. Conclusions: (1) Home-based elder care services can improve the quality of life for the elderly. The standard score of the Average effect of the Treatment on the Treated (ATT) is 0.315, but the score of those in rural areas is 5.5 times larger than that in urban areas. (2) ATT is rising, but the intervention effects diverge between rural and urban areas with an increasing trend in rural areas and a decreasing trend in urban areas. (3) An evaluation method for the intervention effects has been explored. Suggestions: We shall improve the quality of the home-based elder care services, and explore factors that affect the quality of life for the elderly. We can perfect relevant development paths and evaluation systems, and improve the intervention effects by promoting the fairness of service utilization.

The Influence of Population Ageing on Enterprise Innovation:An Empirical Analysis Based on the Data of Census and Micro Industrial Enterprises

Sui Shumin, He Zenghua

2020, 44(6):  63-78. 

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The relative price of factors determines the optimal production structure of enterprises. Population ageing leads to the decrease of effective labor supply and the increase of labor costs, and thus affects enterprise innovation. This paper links the city-level census data to the data of micro industrial enterprises and analyzes the impact of regional population ageing on enterprise innovation outputs. The results show that (i) the current low level of population ageing has significantly promoted the innovation of Chinese enterprises, while population ageing exceeding a certain inflection point in the long run will inhibit enterprise innovation; (ii) compared to other types of enterprises, population ageing is more likely to promote innovation in nonstateowned enterprises and capital-intensive enterprises; (iii) the ageing of Chinas population has promoted the innovation of enterprises in eastern and central regions, while it has negatively affected the enterprise innovation in western regions; (iv) population migration restrains the promotion effect of population ageing on enterprise innovation in eastern region. Policies should optimize the input of production factors, cultivate the quality demographic dividend, and promote the coordinated regional development of innovation.

Trends and Characteristics of Induced Abortion among Married Women of Reproductive Ages in China:A Study Based on 1997-2017 China Fertility Surveys

Wei Zhixin, Yu Dian, Liu Hongyan

2020, 44(6):  79-95. 

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This study utilizes four waves of data from 1997-2017 China Fertility Survey and analyzes the levels and trends of induced abortion since the early 21st century. Married women of reproductive age who had pregnancy history within the five years before each survey were selected as research object. The study dissected the characteristics of induced abortion in different periods, including the number and gender of children, contraceptive use, and other relevant information. The results show that the occurrence of induced abortion decreased gradually, and the risk of induced abortion was higher for those who had given birth to less children. Meanwhile, induced abortion among 2-children women increased recently. It is noteworthy that premarital induced abortions among childless women continued to increase in recent years, and the sexual and reproductive health issues of adolescents remained serious. The occurrence of induced abortions after childbirth increased for those with one or two children, showing that the unmet need for contraception after childbirth should gain more attention. In addition, sex-selective abortion has been decreasing gradually but still exists. Therefore, gender equality advocacy needs to be strengthened.

Premarital Cohabitation in China and Its Impacts on Marriage and Fertility Trajectories

Zhang Luyin

2020, 44(6):  96-113. 

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Drawing on data from 2016 China Family Panel Studies, this paper uses survival analysis to examine premarital cohabitation and its impacts on marriage and childbearing behaviors. The results indicate: (1) Despite a quick transition into marital union, premarital cohabitation has a postponement effect on first marriage, which influences males to a larger extent. After controlling for selectivity by propensity score matching, premarital cohabitation no longer delays women‘’s marriage but still affects that of men. Over cohorts, the impacts of premarital cohabitation on marriage change in magnitude and direction, reflecting its heterogeneity. (2) Although marriage and childbearing are still closely related, women who have cohabited premaritally tend to prolong their transition into motherhood. Despite a squeezing effect of marriage delay on fertility timing, premarital cohabitators are not affected. These findings not only suggest that Chinas family systems are characterized by a combination of modernity and traditionality, but also have implications for public policies in the realm of marriage and childbearing during the Second Demographic Transition.

A Review of Studies on China's Population and Macroeconomics Issues

Song Shujie, Lu Yang

2020, 44(6):  114-125. 

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Fertility rate, population growth, and economic development are usually causally correlated with complex relationships among each other. The mainstream academic point of views towards demography from literature highly depend on the economic development level at that time. In the early time, the literature mainly focused on the interrelationship between population and economic development. After the 1990s, a growing number of scholars believed that demographic structure, rather than population size, is more important for economic growth. Demographic dividend is also correlated with demographic transition, fertility rate, and even the one-child policy. In addition, as economists began to introduce population issues into the framework of macroeconomic, lots of interdisciplinary research emerged in recent years. In this paper, population and macroeconomic issues are summarized according to different stages of research, and the potential research directions are given in the end.