家庭育儿效用、社会经济地位与育儿经济成本

Family Childcare Utility,Socioeconomic Status and the Economic Costs of Childcare

在低生育率背景下,育儿经济成本及其差异问题已经成为家庭社会学和人口学领域的重要议题。利用2019年在西安市五城区针对955名已育一孩夫妇开展的“养育成本及生育意愿状况”专项调查数据,基于新家庭经济学和社会分层理论视角,讨论了家庭育儿效用和社会经济地位对育儿经济成本的影响及其家庭生命周期阶段差异。研究发现:第一,育儿效用、社会经济地位与育儿经济成本之间更多表现为一种同向递增关系,并且家庭育儿经济支出在0~3岁、3~6岁和6~12岁家庭之间呈现出一种倒“J”型结构。第二,家庭育儿效用、社会经济地位和家庭生命周期阶段对育儿经济成本均存在不同程度的显著影响,以心理满足为主的情感效用、家庭的客观和主观社会经济地位的上升有利于提高家庭育儿经济成本,且家庭生命周期阶段的向前推进也会促进家庭育儿经济成本的投入。第三,家庭育儿情感效用、社会经济地位对育儿经济成本的正向影响效应存在家庭生命周期阶段方面的分异,尤其在3~6岁和6~12岁家庭中表现得更为突出。因此,建议出台差异化的家庭育儿经济补贴政策,降低育儿家庭尤其是低社会经济地位家庭的育儿经济成本。同时,加强儿童友好型社会建设,实现“幼有善育”的高质量发展,更好满足不同特征家庭的共同育儿需求。

Given the low fertility rate,the economic aspects of childcare have become crucial in family sociology and demography.This study,based on data from the“Survey of Child-rearing Costs and Fertility Intentions”conducted among 955 one-child couples in Xi'an in 2019,employs an integrative analytical framework between the New Home Economics and the Social Stratification Theory.The study found that the relationship between childcare utility,socio⁃economic status,and economic costs of childcare is more of an isotropic increasing relationship.The economic expendi⁃tures of childcare in families with children aged 0~3 years old,3~6 years old,and 6~12 years old exhibit an inverted J-shape structure.Family childcare utility,socioeconomic status,and family life cycle stage all have varying degrees of significant influence on the economic cost of childcare.Emotional utility,primarily psychological satisfaction,along with an increase in both the objective and subjective socioeconomic status of the family,lead to higher economic costs of childcare.Furthermore,the backward extension of the family's life cycle stage also contributes to increased childcare expenses.There is a differentiation in the positive effects of family emotional utility of childcare and socioeconomic sta⁃tus on the economic costs of childcare across different family life cycle stages,especially among families with children aged 3~6 and 6~12 years old.The study recommends reducing the economic cost of childcare for families,particular⁃ly those with low socioeconomic status,through the implementation of differentiated family childcare economic subsidy policies.Additionally,it suggests strengthening the construction of a child-friendly society to promote high-quality de⁃velopment of parenting practices and better meet the diverse parenting needs of families.