我国家庭养育成本的研究述评与前景展望

A Review and Prospect of the Research on the Cost of Family Raising Children in China

伴随着我国经济发展、社会变迁和人们生育观念的转变,家庭养育成本日益成为低生育时代育龄群体生育决策最为重要的影响因素之一。通过梳理与分析20世纪90年代以来家庭养育成本的相关文献资料,发现家庭养育成本研究的文献数量总体上呈递增趋势,并形成了研究内容丰富、方法多样、结论可靠的系列成果,相关研究方向主要集中在三个方面:一是在西方新家庭经济学理论基础上,对养育成本的概念界定及其测量;二是利用全国性或地方性调查数据,对养育成本的基本现状及其影响因素展开分析;三是从个体、国家和社会层面分别讨论养育成本与生育意愿及行为、生育率和生育政策间的相关关系与后果。尽管既有研究为更好理解家庭养育成本规律及其后果提供了参考,但还存在家庭养育成本概念测量多元且不一致、养育成本分担主体责任界限模糊、理论解释机制缺乏新意、实证调查数量偏少等不足。在未来的一段时间内,应从以下五个方面进一步深化家庭养育成本相关研究:第一,构建科学合理的养育成本测量指标体系,统筹考虑家庭、国家和社会层面长期投入的各项直接成本和间接成本;第二,正确认识我国养育成本责任分担主体的非均衡状态,剖析养育成本的责任分担模式与政策启示;第三,探讨养育成本与生育意愿和行为间的内在关系,深入分析养育成本对生育率和生育政策的作用机制;第四,重点关注女性机会成本,建立健全女性机会成本的补偿机制与体系;第五,开展实证调查,验证与评估相关生育政策的有效性。

With the development of our country’s economy,the transformation of society and the change of people’s conception of procreation,the cost of family rearing has increasingly become one of the important factors of fertility decision-making in the era of low fertility rate.Through combing and analyzing the relevant literature data of family parenting costs since the 1990s,it’s found that the number of literatures on family parenting costs is increasing as a whole,and a series of results with rich research content,diverse methods and reliable conclusions have been formed,and its related research directions mainly focus on three aspects:the first is to define and measure the concept of parenting cost that based on the theory of new western family economics;the second is to use national or local survey data to analyze the basic status of parenting cost and its influencing factors;the third is to discuss the relationship and consequences between parenting costs and fertility desire and behavior,fertility rate and fertility policy from the individual,national and social levels.Although existing studies provide a reference for a better understanding of the law of family parenting costs and their consequences,there are still multiple and inconsistent family parenting cost conceptual measurements,blurred parenting cost sharing subject responsibility boundaries,lack of innovative theoretical explanation mechanisms,and a small number of empirical investigations.In the next period of time,related research on family parenting costs should be further deepened from the following five aspects:Firstly,a scientific and reasonable parenting cost measurement indicator system should be established,and various direct costs and indirect costs of long-term investment at the family,national,and social levels should be considered;Secondly,correctly understand the unbalanced state of the main body of responsibility for parenting costs in China,analyze the responsibility sharing model and policy implications of parenting costs;Thirdly,explore the internal relationship between parenting costs and fertility desire and behavior,and deeply analyze the effects of parenting costs on the mechanism of fertility and fertility policies;Fourthly,focus on women’s opportunity costs,and establish a sound compensation mechanism and system for women’s opportunity costs;Fifthly,carry out empirical investigations to verify and evaluate the effectiveness of related fertility policies.