Chen Xinxin, Giles John, Wang Yafeng, Zhao Yaohui
Institute of Social Science Survey, Peking University Room 528, No. 5, Science Building, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China.
World Bank, Development Research Group 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 USA.
Fem Econ. 2018;24(2):54-76. doi: 10.1080/13545701.2018.1438639. Epub 2018 Mar 13.
Using the baseline wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), collected from 2011 to 2012, this study finds that among those age 60 and above, women are 7.6 percent more likely than men to have care needs and 29.3 percent more likely than men to have unmet needs; and that most of the gender gap in unmet needs is explained by the existence and health status of a spouse. Further analysis reveals a sharp gender division in patterns of family care in China. While men are more likely to receive care from their wives, women are primarily cared for by their children. Marital status and spouse health also affect provision of care, with infirm women who have healthy husbands less likely to receive care than infirm men with healthy wives. The findings have important implications for designing gender-sensitive policies in eldercare.
利用2011年至2012年收集的中国健康与养老追踪调查（CHARLS）的基线数据，本研究发现，在60岁及以上人群中，女性有护理需求的可能性比男性高7.6%，有未满足需求的可能性比男性高29.3%；未满足需求方面的性别差距大多可归因于配偶的存在与否及其健康状况。进一步分析表明，中国的家庭护理模式存在明显的性别分工。虽然男性更有可能从妻子那里获得护理，但女性主要由子女照顾。婚姻状况和配偶健康状况也会影响护理的提供，与丈夫健康的体弱女性相比，妻子健康的体弱男性获得护理的可能性更小。这些发现对于制定对性别问题有敏感认识的老年护理政策具有重要意义。
