Table of Content

29 March 2021, Volume 45 Issue 2

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Dealing with the Ageing Society Issues Actively in the National Strategic System

Yuan Xin, Jin Niu

2021, 45(2):  3-12. 

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The general trend of population and development is characterised by rapid population ageing, which is one of the irreversible changes and the basic national conditions in current and future China, determining the long-term nature of the challenge and the arduousness of the task. Since the beginning of this century, especially since the 19th National Congress of CPC, CPC's great concept on actively dealing with population ageing has improved in practice and consolidated the population support system for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. On the centenary of the founding of CPC, the establishment of a comprehensive and integrated system awareness, and the implementation of the national strategy to actively deal with population ageing are important foundations for adapting to the deep ageing society during the 14th FiveYear Plan period, and necessary preconditions for opening the new journey to build a socialist modern country in a holistic way. Specifically, it is necessary to consolidate economic wealth reserves, enhance political governance capabilities, cultivate cultural values, ensure peoples livelihoods, and promote ecological civilization construction according to the Fivesphere Integrated Plan.

The Universal Two-Child Policy and Changing Fertility Level of Floating Population

Shi Zhilei, Lyu Jie

2021, 45(2):  13-29. 

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Based on China Migrants Dynamic Surveys from 2011 to 2018, this paper examines the fertility level and its changing trend of the floating population, and assesses the influence effect and internal mechanism of the universal twochild policy on the fertility level of floating population. The results show that the fertility level of floating population in China has fluctuated and increased since 2010, and the universal twochild policy has a significant impact on the secondchild fertility level of floating women. However, the accumulation effect of fertility caused by the policy was released quickly. In 2017, the fertility level of Chinas floating population reached a peak of 1.862, which was also the turning point when the fertility level turned from rise to decline. With the gradual implementation of the twochild policy, the secondchild fertility level of the floating population of different socioeconomic status has reversed: the secondchild fertility rate of the floating population with high socioeconomic status is lower at first, and then begins to approach or even surpass that of the low socioeconomic group. Studying the changes of fertility patterns among different groups caused by the universal two-child policy, we may shed light on the longterm development trend of China's population.

Differences and Influencing Factors for Mortality Rate of COVID-19:Based on Age Structure and Testing Rate

Tan Yuanfa, Wang Le, Huang Chien-Chung

2021, 45(2):  30-46. 

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It is unclear to what extent age structure and testing rate explain the differences in mortality rate of COVID19 across countries. Based on the agespecific data of Italy, Spain, China, and South Korea from March 23 to April 27, 2020, this paper uses decomposition method to study the differences and influencing factors for mortality rate of COVID-19 among these countries. Major findings are as follows: (1) Differences in mortality rate and fatality rate vary across countries, and are widen over time. (2) Mortality rates in Italy, Spain, and China are higher than those in South Korea. Age structure effect accounts for 66.62%, 74.82%, and 11.70% of the total difference for Italy, Spain, and China respectively. (3) After introducing relative risk in decomposition, the age structure effect for Italy and Spain, and the agespecific fatality effect for China are reduced gradually.(4) After introducing testing rate in decomposition, the effect of age structure is decreased drastically, and the positive rate of COVID-19 dominates the differences in mortality across countries. (5) The effect of testing rate on mortality for Italy, Spain, and South Korea increases over time.

Effect of Number of Births on Depressive Symptoms of Older Adults

Yang Hualei, Wu Yuanyang, Zhang Siqing, Zhang Shuo

2021, 45(2):  47-60. 

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As a life event, fertility behavior has accumulative impacts on individuals' later-life health. This paper examines the effect of the number of births on Chinese older adults' depression by applying OLS and Probit models on data from the 2013 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Older adults with more children have more depressive symptoms. This negative association is more pronounced among those having three or more children. The mediation analysis suggests that the number of children affects the mental health of the older adults because it influences individuals' physical health and support from children. Analyses on the subgroups suggest that the influence of fertility on depressive symptoms is significant among rural older adults, adults aged 60-70 and older women. Other reproductive behaviors such as an older age at first birth and a longer reproductive period also adversely affect the mental health of older adults.

Internet Use among Older Adults in Urban China and Its Influencing Factors

Ding Zhihong, Zhang Xianling

2021, 45(2):  61-74. 

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The number of older Internet users in urban China has increased rapidly in recent years, while the prevalence of Internet usage among older adults is still much smaller than developed countries. Using data from 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, we find great gender, age, and education differences among the older adults in internet access, internet use, and ways of learning Internet. Older urban netizens use Internet frequently. Most of them use the Internet to socialize or search for information, while a small proportion of them try online shopping. Most of older urban netizens use mobile phones to get online. They learn about Internet use by themselves or asking for help from their family members rather than referring to resources outside household. The Internet use of older adults in urban China is largely affected by their individual attributes, family characteristics, socio-economic status, equipment and technical conditions, and their own interest in using smart devices. Based on these findings, we suggest that, to encourage the Internet use among older adults, producers should enhance the quality and types of services designed for older adults, and the community should play a more important role in promoting the Internet use among older adults.

Influencing Factors of Elder Abuse in China：The Mediating Effects of Health Human Capital and Social Capital

Ji Yun, Sun Juanjuan

2021, 45(2):  75-88. 

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Based on the fourth survey of the living conditions of the elderly in urban and rural areas of 2015, this paper explores the mediation effects of health human capital and social capital between economic capital and elder abuse using the simultaneous equations model. It is found that the incidence of elder abuse is about 2.70%. Mental abuse and neglect care are the leading categories of elder abuse in China. The older people who are living alone, in western China, male, with low education level, jobless, having more sons, and with more children out of home or with financial difficulties are at a greater risk of elder abuse. The older people's health human capital, economic capital, and social capital have significant inhibitory effect on elder abuse. It can be concluded that the incidence of elder abuse is low in China. Older people with greater health human capital, economic capital, and social capital are less likely to experience elder abuse. Further, the health human capital and social capital play mediation roles between economic capital and elder abuse. Policies aiming at improving the health awareness and economic security of the older people, establishing a diversified social support network, and strengthening the construction of community eldercare services should be adopted.

On the Stability of Professional Team of Geriatric Nursing Based on “Space Theory”

Ren Jiehui

2021, 45(2):  89-101. 

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Due to the small number of geriatric nursing staff and their high loss rate, the professional construction of geriatric nursing team should first effectively retain the nursing staff. In this context, this paper puts forward the interpretation framework of “home”, and analyzes the construction of the symbolic space of “home” of nursing homes under Lefebvres “space theory”. Through the participant observation and depthinterview of three elderly care institutions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, comparing the different construction processes of them in the triple space of spatial praxis, representation of space, and representational space, the paper explains the effect and significance of “home” space production on the professional team construction of geriatric nurses. The study found that the construction of belonging space and the development of multi-win space in nursing home could effectively retain the geriatric nursing staff and enhance their professional identity. At the same time, it puts forward some suggestions on the localization of commercial space in nursing homes.

Heterogeneous Work Experience and Reservation Wages in Gig Workers' Employment：Evidence from Carhailing Platform Drivers

Yang Weiguo, Li Xiaoman, Wu Qingjun, Luo Xiangyan

2021, 45(2):  102-117. 

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Based on the classic reservation wage theory, this paper proposes the concept of reservation wage on platform and utilizes the carhailing platforms survey data to empirically investigate the impact and mechanism of heterogeneous work experience on reservation wages, and to examine the impact of the gig economy on the overall welfare rather than income of gig workers. The results reveal that the drivers who transferred from the laidoff and unemployed status have the lowest reservation wages. Coming from industries with excess capacity and having negative job search experience significantly reduce the reservation wages of the gig workers, and the former has a greater effect. Further, the risk attitude towards the platform and the degree of family support are important mechanisms, and the type of gig workers (survival or development) has a differentiating effect. Finally, the paper describes the gig workers' current status of labor supply and labor surplus. Based on this description, this paper discusses policy implications about helping gig workers transfer and improve employment quality.

Income Mobility of Two-Child Families during the Family Planning Policy Change

Chen Yun, Huo Qingqing, Zhang Wan

2021, 45(2):  118-128. 

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Family income largely affects fertility behaviors under the universal twochild policy. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposed to reduce the cost of fertility, parenting and education. Using CFPS data collected before and after the recent family planning policy change, this research develops a twochild family income conversion sub matrix decomposition method, and empirically analyzes the characteristics of two-child family income mobility. A binomial logistic regression model is established to analyze the factors influencing the income mobility of twochild families. The results show that: (1)During the relaxation of fertility policy, the absolute income of two-child families has moved downward, and the speed of movement has increased. The possibility of income rank downward mobility has also increased.(2)The impact of having two children on income mobility differs across families in different income groups. Middleincome groups are the most affected while the highincome group is the least affected.(3)In addition to the individual and households' characteristics, the imbalance of economic development and urbanrural differences are still the important macro factors affecting the income mobility of two-child families in China.