Feng Kai
Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Demography. 2023 Oct 1;60(5):1309-1333. doi: 10.1215/00703370-10925119.
The gender gap in labor force participation (LFP) in China has grown over the last 30 years, despite substantial advances in women's education and economic development. Previous research has identified gender discrimination and work-family conflicts as two key explanations for the gap, both of which have risen since the start of China's economic reform in 1978. Using multiple waves of the national census and household panel data from China, this research shows that one overlooked mechanism widening the LFP gender gap lies in the institutional constraints that require women to retire earlier than men. This research also demonstrates how the impact of women's early retirement on the LFP gender gap has been exacerbated by two societal-level changes: (1) population aging, which increased the share of women who reached the retirement age; and (2) economic development, which increased the number of women entering nonfarming occupations and, hence, the gender-based retirement system. These findings suggest that without significant revisions to China's retirement system, the LFP gender gap will continue to expand as the population ages and economic development proceeds.
在过去30年里，尽管中国女性的教育水平和经济发展取得了显著进步，但劳动力参与率（LFP）方面的性别差距仍在扩大。先前的研究已将性别歧视和工作与家庭冲突确定为造成这一差距的两个关键原因，自1978年中国经济改革开始以来，这两个因素都有所增加。利用中国多轮全国人口普查和家庭面板数据，本研究表明，扩大劳动力参与率性别差距的一个被忽视的机制在于制度性限制，即要求女性比男性更早退休。本研究还表明，女性提前退休对劳动力参与率性别差距的影响是如何因两个社会层面的变化而加剧的：（1）人口老龄化，这增加了达到退休年龄的女性比例；（2）经济发展，这增加了进入非农业职业的女性数量，从而也增加了基于性别的退休制度。这些发现表明，如果不对中国的退休制度进行重大改革，随着人口老龄化和经济发展的推进，劳动力参与率性别差距将继续扩大。
