中国劳动力市场中的年龄歧视及其影响——基于中国社会状况综合调查(CSS)数据的分析

Age Discrimination in China’s Labor Market and Its Impact:Based on the Chinese Social Survey Data

劳动力市场歧视不利于实现平等就业和高质量充分就业,损害了人力资源的有效配置,也不利于劳动者福利的增进。近年来,“35岁就业危机”现象引起社会广泛关注,然而,目前针对国内劳动力市场中年龄歧视的系统研究还十分缺乏。基于人力资本理论和歧视理论,首先分析了年龄歧视的现状及来自劳动供需双方的成因。研究发现,与发达国家不同,中国劳动力市场的年龄歧视高峰期较早,主要集中在步入中年后的35—40岁,这主要与劳动力市场对技能更新的青壮年群体的偏好有关。进一步运用中国社会状况综合调查数据,实证检验了年龄歧视的劳动力市场后果。采用工具变量的估计结果表明,年龄歧视显著提高了劳动者的失业风险,降低了其劳动收入水平。就业类型方面,年龄歧视显著降低了劳动者进入正规部门的可能性。此外,年龄歧视还对劳动者的心理健康和生活满意度产生了负向影响。研究揭示了中国年龄歧视的特殊性、普遍性和不利影响,指出了这种与人力资本结构变迁和雇主用工策略相关的中青年偏好可能造成的社会经济成本和福利损失。基于此,提出了消除年龄歧视的政策建议,包括规范用人单位的招聘行为,加强反歧视法律建设,以及完善职业培训和再就业机制等。

Discrimination in the labor market is not conducive to the achievement of equal employment opportunities and high-quality full employment,which damage the effective allocation of human resources and adversely affect the welfare of worker.The phenomenon of“35-year-old employment crisis”has garnered widespread attention in Chinese society in recent years.However,systematic research on age discrimination within China’s domestic labor market remains scarce.Drawing on human capital theory and discrimination theory,this paper first examines the current state of age discrimination and its causes from both supply and demand perspectives.It is found that,unlike developed countries,the peak period of age discrimination in China’s labor market occurs earlier,mainly concentrated in the 35-40 years old,which is closely related to the labor market’s preference for younger workers with updated skills.Utilizing data from the Chinese Social Survey(CSS),this paper empirically tests the labor market consequences of age discrimination.The estimation results using instrumental variable show that age discrimination significantly increases the risk of unemployment for workers and lowers their income levels.In terms of employment types,age discrimination notably reduces the likelihood of workers entering formal sectors.Moreover,age discrimination has a negative impact on workers’mental health and life satisfaction.This paper highlights the specificity,ubiquity,and adverse effects of age discrimination in China,pointing out the potential socio-economic costs and welfare losses associated with the preference for middle-aged and younger workers,which is linked to shifts in human capital structure and employers’hiring strategies.Based on these findings,the paper proposes policy recommendations to eliminate age discrimination,including standardizing recruitment practices by employers,strengthening anti-discrimination legislation construction,and improving vocational training and re-employment mechanisms.