This paper examines the motivations of parent-child co-residence behavior in China using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.We test three possible motives:social norms,self-interest and altru...This paper examines the motivations of parent-child co-residence behavior in China using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.We test three possible motives:social norms,self-interest and altruism.We find that social norms play an important role in household co-residence behavior,showing that the belief that"sons take care of parents"is strong,and children in different birth orders take different responsibilities.Taking the one-child policy as a natural experiment,we compared co-residence behavior between only-child and multi-child families.This allowed us to test whether children in multi-child families with wealthier parents more often coreside in order to compete for a bequest.We find that parents'wealth is more appealing to children in multi-child families.The results support the life cycle theory that coresidence decisions are motivated by self-interest.We also find some evidence of altruism when parents and children make co-residence decisions.These findings provide some insights for designing future elder-support policies in China.展开更多
During the 11th Five-year Plan （2006-2010）, the total fertility rate of the mainland of China was 1.481 and was stable with a slight decline, exhibiting a spatial pattern of moderately low fertility in the central a...During the 11th Five-year Plan （2006-2010）, the total fertility rate of the mainland of China was 1.481 and was stable with a slight decline, exhibiting a spatial pattern of moderately low fertility in the central and western regions, very low fertility in the east and extremely low fertility in the northeast. Except for a rebound in a few provinces and regions with extremely low fertility rates, the ratio of actual fertility rates to policy fertility rates is still falling. The reduced fertility rate is mainly driven by development, notably the proportion of the total population represented by the exuberantly fertile women of child-bearing age and their greater urbanization, growing level of non-agricultural employment and outflow from rural areas, as well as the assimilative effect of urban production, lifestyles and culturalconcepts upon the agricultural population. Development has catalyzed an irreversible trend of declining fertility; existing fertility policy has proven insufficient to keep fertility rates stable at reasonably low levels. Policy-based rebounds may emerge in urban areas and the east and northeast, where family planning policy has been better implemented; on the other hand, a non-policy-based rebound may have been released. In the central and western rural areas, multiple births occur on average among only 4.12 percent of the younger generation of women. As fertility policy is adjusted and improved, fertility rebounds in transitional fertility policy adjustment can be effectively regulated through a gradual strategy which will not provoke a sharp rebound. The time is ripe for China to conduct a nationally unified adjustment of the existing fertility policy.展开更多
文摘This paper examines the motivations of parent-child co-residence behavior in China using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.We test three possible motives:social norms,self-interest and altruism.We find that social norms play an important role in household co-residence behavior,showing that the belief that"sons take care of parents"is strong,and children in different birth orders take different responsibilities.Taking the one-child policy as a natural experiment,we compared co-residence behavior between only-child and multi-child families.This allowed us to test whether children in multi-child families with wealthier parents more often coreside in order to compete for a bequest.We find that parents'wealth is more appealing to children in multi-child families.The results support the life cycle theory that coresidence decisions are motivated by self-interest.We also find some evidence of altruism when parents and children make co-residence decisions.These findings provide some insights for designing future elder-support policies in China.
基金the partial result of the National Social Science Fund of China titled"Population Development Simulation and Alternative Fertility Policy"(No.08BRK009)
文摘During the 11th Five-year Plan （2006-2010）, the total fertility rate of the mainland of China was 1.481 and was stable with a slight decline, exhibiting a spatial pattern of moderately low fertility in the central and western regions, very low fertility in the east and extremely low fertility in the northeast. Except for a rebound in a few provinces and regions with extremely low fertility rates, the ratio of actual fertility rates to policy fertility rates is still falling. The reduced fertility rate is mainly driven by development, notably the proportion of the total population represented by the exuberantly fertile women of child-bearing age and their greater urbanization, growing level of non-agricultural employment and outflow from rural areas, as well as the assimilative effect of urban production, lifestyles and culturalconcepts upon the agricultural population. Development has catalyzed an irreversible trend of declining fertility; existing fertility policy has proven insufficient to keep fertility rates stable at reasonably low levels. Policy-based rebounds may emerge in urban areas and the east and northeast, where family planning policy has been better implemented; on the other hand, a non-policy-based rebound may have been released. In the central and western rural areas, multiple births occur on average among only 4.12 percent of the younger generation of women. As fertility policy is adjusted and improved, fertility rebounds in transitional fertility policy adjustment can be effectively regulated through a gradual strategy which will not provoke a sharp rebound. The time is ripe for China to conduct a nationally unified adjustment of the existing fertility policy.
