Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Who will care for older people in China? Exploring the implications of gender imbalance at birth

Who will care for older people in China? Exploring the implications of gender imbalance at birth Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence about the possible cause and effect of the problematic gender imbalance at birth in China. Much of the literature on this issue presents discussions based on the traditional assumption that Chinese sons are more involved in taking care of parents than Chinese daughters are, and thus, that Chinese parents prefer sons. Yet, empirical evidence is lacking. Design/methodology/approach – This paper verifies the assumption by using the “Preference Parameters Study in China 2011,” which conducted 652 face‐to‐face interviews with randomly selected individuals in six major Chinese cities. Findings – This paper first presents empirical evidence that Chinese sons (and their wives) are more likely, compared to daughters (and their husbands), to be primary caregivers for parents. The paper also reports the finding that Chinese parents’ dependencies on their children would not necessarily decrease with the development of social security, although that may be the case when a child has a highly educated spouse. Practical implications – The Chinese government needs to increase long‐term care services for older people, especially since more women are being educated. Originality/value – Although this study has data collection limitations, with data collected in only six major cities, the problematic nature of gender imbalance at birth and the lack of available empirical evidence demand that researchers begin to construct a better understanding of the causes of, and possible solutions to, this phenomenon. With that in mind, this paper contributes to that construction of knowledge and insight. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Working with Older People Emerald Publishing

Who will care for older people in China? Exploring the implications of gender imbalance at birth

Yoshihiko Kadoya; Ting Yin
Working with Older People , Volume 18 (2): 9 – Jun 3, 2014
Download PDF
9 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/who-will-care-for-older-people-in-china-exploring-the-implications-of-g7T00KiG5U
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1366-3666
DOI
10.1108/WWOP-01-2014-0002
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence about the possible cause and effect of the problematic gender imbalance at birth in China. Much of the literature on this issue presents discussions based on the traditional assumption that Chinese sons are more involved in taking care of parents than Chinese daughters are, and thus, that Chinese parents prefer sons. Yet, empirical evidence is lacking. Design/methodology/approach – This paper verifies the assumption by using the “Preference Parameters Study in China 2011,” which conducted 652 face‐to‐face interviews with randomly selected individuals in six major Chinese cities. Findings – This paper first presents empirical evidence that Chinese sons (and their wives) are more likely, compared to daughters (and their husbands), to be primary caregivers for parents. The paper also reports the finding that Chinese parents’ dependencies on their children would not necessarily decrease with the development of social security, although that may be the case when a child has a highly educated spouse. Practical implications – The Chinese government needs to increase long‐term care services for older people, especially since more women are being educated. Originality/value – Although this study has data collection limitations, with data collected in only six major cities, the problematic nature of gender imbalance at birth and the lack of available empirical evidence demand that researchers begin to construct a better understanding of the causes of, and possible solutions to, this phenomenon. With that in mind, this paper contributes to that construction of knowledge and insight.

Journal

Working with Older People – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 3, 2014

Keywords: China; Long‐term care; Population ageing; Family caregiving; Gender imbalance; Son preference

References

  • Kodomo kosodate hakusho (White Paper for Child and Parenting)
    Cabinet Office, Government of Japan
  • Gender selection in China: its meanings and implications
    Chan, C.L.W.; Yip, P.S.F.; Ng, E.H.Y.; Ho, P.C.; Chan, C.H.Y.; Au, J.S.K.
  • Parental Sex Selection and Missing Girls in China
    Chen, Y.; Li, H.; Meng, L.
  • Help Wanted? Providing and Paying for Long‐Term Care
    Colombo, F.; Llena‐Nazal, A.; Mercier, J.; Tjadens, F.
  • Primary family caregivers of impaired elderly in Shanghai, China: kin relationship and caregiver burden
    Cooney, S.; Di, J.
  • Financial security of urban retirees
    Davis, D.S.
  • Abnormal sex ratios in human populations: causes and consequences
    Hesketh, T.; Xing, Z.W.
  • China Populations & Employment Statistics Yearbook 2010
    National Bureau of Statistics of China
  • Long‐Term Care for Older People
    OECD
  • Pensions at Glance: Asia/Pacific
    OECD
  • The security for Chinese older people in urban‐rural one child families
    Wang, G.; Su, X.; Hatton‐Yeo, A.
  • The competitive saving motive: evidence from rising sex ratios and saving rates in China
    Wei, S.; Zhang, X.
  • Gender statistics highlights
    World Bank
  • Gender and elder care in China: the influence of filial piety and structural constraints
    Zhan, H.J.; Montgomery, R.J.V.