Table of Content

29 July 2023, Volume 47 Issue 4

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When Fertility Support Policies are Effective？ Gender Equality, the Combination of Fertility Support Policies, and the Rebound of Total Fertility Rate in 27 Countries

Zhang Yang, Li Lingchun

2023, 47(4):  3-19. 

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China has witnessed a low total fertility rate for decades; thus, it is imperative to build a fertility support policy system based on the experience of other lowfertility countries. Drawing on a constructed longitudinal dataset, we investigate the associations of different fertility support policy combinations with a fertility rebound and the moderating effects of gender equality on these associations. We find that policy combinations supporting the dualearners model are more conducive to fertility rebound, compared to those supporting the malebreadwinner model. Economic support policies have a stable positive relationship with the total fertility rate, while the effects of service and time support policies are contingent upon gender equality. Specifically, the effects of service and time support policies are more pronounced with higher levels of gender equality. These findings suggest that we need to consider the coordination and combination of different types of fertility policies, and rethink the value orientation and social background behind the policies, and promote a genderfriendly social environment.

Who Needs More Fertility Policy Support?Fertility Decline from the Perspective of Role Conflict and Optimization of Occupational Structure

Yang Hui

2023, 47(4):  20-34. 

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Using data from national population censuses and the 3rd survey on Chinese women's social status, this study systemically analyzes the relationship between womens number of live births by occupation from 2000 to 2020 and the optimization of their occupation structure. Occupationspecific analysis shows an increase in women's number of live births while a decrease in overall trend. This seeming conflict is resulted from the continuous optimization of female occupation structure throughout China's urbanization, industrialization, and modernization. Further, the increase in the number of live births differs across occupation categories. Female specialists, technicians, and clerical personnel have had the fewest number of live births and suffered the most from work-family conflicts. Future policies should provide more support to them to satisfy their needs for giving birth

Differences in Mortality by Region in China since the 1980s and Their Evolution: The Staged Synergy between Medical Investment and Socio-economic Development

Li Ting, Yan Yuteng

2023, 47(4):  35-50. 

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Exploring regional differences in mortality levels and their evolutionary trends is an important way to understand China's mortality and health transition. By using provincial mortality data from the third to the seventh censuses as revised by the Log-Quad Model and provincial statistics from various sources, this study analyzes variations in mortality levels and their driving mechanisms across age groups in China by space-time framework. It is found that firstly, the life expectancy gap between different regions in China has continued to show a pattern of being higher in the east and lower in the west, while the gap in infant mortality rates has narrowed and the gap in elderly mortality rates has increased. Secondly, with the shift in the epidemiological pattern of mortality, the driving mechanism behind the decline in mortality rates in China has shifted from medical facility investment to socio-economic development. The regional differences in mortality rates are largely driven by the stage-specific differences in the driving mechanisms of different regions. Given that socio-economic development has increasingly become the main driving force behind the convergence of regional mortality rates in China, efforts should be made to improve the socio-economic level of different regions, while consolidating existing medical investment.

Lifetime Induced Abortion of Chinese Women: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis on the 1930-1969 Birth Cohorts

Lyu Lidan, Chen Yidi

2023, 47(4):  51-66. 

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Most studies on induced abortion have been conducted based on period data; an analysis from a life course perspective is needed. Based on the life course survey data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2014, this paper analyzes the lifetime pregnancy information of women born in the 1930-1969 cohort. The hierarchical APC model is used to estimate the period, cohort, and age effects affecting the level of lifetime induced abortion among women. The results showed that the period effects reflected the adjustment of family planning policies and the development of reproductive health services. Regarding cohort effects, the quantity and the sex selection mechanism for induced abortion differed among women from different cohorts. The age patterns of induced abortion showed heterogeneity and regularity across women in different periods and cohorts. Future policies should improve reproductive health services, reduce unwanted pregnancies, promote gender equality, and focus on the health status of middleaged and older women who have experienced induced abortion.

The Influence of Living Conditions on Depression of the Older People

Hou Jianming, Zhang Peidong

2023, 47(4):  67-81. 

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With the continuous increase in the scale and proportion of the older population, the situation of population aging is becoming increasingly severe, and older people's depression is turning to be prominent. In the context of the implementation of the national strategy to address the problem of population ageing, this paper explores the influence of housing conditions on older people's depression based on the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Data (CHARLS2018). Through using the two-stage least square regression, quantile regression, and threshold regression models, our results show that good living conditions can significantly alleviate older people's depression after effectively addressing the endogenous problem of the model, and the conclusion is robust. The improvement effect of living conditions is more pronounced as the degree of older people's depression increases. Furthermore, the influence of living conditions on older people's depression differs significantly among different age groups. Compared to individuals aged 60-64, the coefficient is higher for the people aged over 64. Enhancing the quality and ageing suitability of older people's housing is an effective approach to alleviate their depression.

Urban-Rural Differences and Trends in Healthy Ageing of Chinese Elderly: An Analysis Based on the Life Course and Health Equity Perspective

Mu Yingtan, Long Fei, Yuan Xin

2023, 47(4):  82-97. 

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Using data from CLHLS 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018, this paper constructs a healthy ageing index based on multi-dimensional indicators to portray the age trajectory of healthy ageing of Chinese older adults. From the perspective of life course and health equity, this study analyzes the urban-rural differences and trends in the age trajectory of healthy ageing. The results indicate that the healthy ageing level of urban older adults is significantly better than that of rural older adults, mainly due to the urban advantages in childhood family background, socioeconomic status in adulthood, and institutional support. The urban-rural difference in healthy ageing weakens as age increases, showing a “convergence effect”. This difference has also narrowed across cohorts, mainly because the healthy ageing level of the younger cohorts in urban areas has declined substantially compared to older cohorts. This study discusses policy implications in improving the healthy ageing index system, strengthening dynamic monitoring, and focusing on the effectiveness of healthy ageing intervention policies from the perspective of life course and health equity.

Trends in Educational Assortative Marriages in China by Couple Hukou Status, 1960-2018: An Urban-Rural Integration Perspective

Du Yongxiao, Dong Hao

2023, 47(4):  98-113. 

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This study, from an urban-rural integration perspective, examines and compares trends in educational assortative marriages by couple's rural/non-rural hukou status. We use new methods, such as rank-rank correlation and Exchange Index, to analyze 81756 couples from nationally representative survey data (i.e., the 2003-2018 CGSS and 2010 CFPS). We find a substantial and persistent difference between rural and urban marriages. Couples who both have an urban hukou have more similar educational statuses than couples of whom either one or both have a rural hukou. This gap in homogamous tendency is mainly driven by highly educated couples. Moreover, we find gender-asymmetrical hukou-status exchange patterns for rural-urban inter-marrying couples, whose relative advantages in hukou or educational status could not compensate each other. These new findings reveal the profound influence of unbalanced development between rural and urban regions, highlighting potential directions for future policies for better incorporating rural-urban integration with sustained population development.

The Influence of Clan Culture on Urban Entrepreneurship of Migrants

Sheng Yinan, Shang Jiajia, Zheng Haoran

2023, 47(4):  114-128. 

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Clan culture, based on blood and kinship, is a major cultural feature of Chinese vernacular society. Clan culture not only has far-reaching effects at origin, but also continues to affect behavioral decision-making among migrants at destination. Based on the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS2017) data, the Probit model regression shows that the clan culture at origin significantly promotes migrants to make entrepreneurial choices. The mechanism analysis shows that clan culture has an impact on migrants' entrepreneurial choices through the formation of a hometown social network and social trust. Further research finds that clan culture promotes the choice of survival-oriented entrepreneurship among migrants, but is detrimental to the entrepreneurial effect of opportunity-oriented entrepreneurs, and that the urban formal system can replace the influence of clan culture on entrepreneurship. The policy implication of this study is that efforts should be made to use the hometown network social organization platform, build a general trust culture that goes beyond intra-clan trust, as well as actively explore the establishment of traditional Chinese culture and formal system complementary role mechanisms to help migrants start businesses and achieve entrepreneurial effects in the cities.