中国女性劳动参与率下降的新解释:家庭结构变迁的视角

Family Structure and Female Labor Force Participation in China

基于2002年中国东部9省的家庭调查数据,文章分别考察了家庭结构对女性与男性劳动参与率及工作时间的影响及其机制,并采用工具变量方法克服内生性问题后发现:多代同堂的家庭结构明显改善了女性的劳动参与率和工作时间,但没有显著改善男性的劳动参与。其背后的机制在于:多代同堂家庭中老年父母尽力协助女儿料理家务,有助于她们投入更多的工作时间。由此可见,近20年来多代同堂家庭比例的下降对女性的劳动参与构成了一股抑制力量,这为女性劳动参与率相对于男性劳动参与率更快速下降的现象提供了一种新的解释,并为制定相应的干预政策提供了实证基础。

Employing the 2002 household survey data in 9 provinces in East China, this paper examines the effect of family structure on female and male labor force participation. Constructing regression models with instrument variables to correct for the endogeneity of family structure, our results indicate that intergenerational coresidence significantly increases female labor force participation and weekly working time, while it has no effect on male labor supply. A major reason is that coresidence help to reduce female housekeeping burden through their parents＇ assistance, which frees up time for work in labor market. These results suggest that decline in intergenerational coresidence in the past two decades could contribute to the more rapid decrease in female labor force participation in China.