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Elder-care, Gender, and Son Preference: The role of cultural transmission and diffusion during the process of rural-urban migration in China. Xiaoyi Jin 1,2 Shuzhuo Li (Principal Investigator) 1 Marcus W. Feldman 2 and Haifeng Du 1,2
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Elder-care, Gender, and Son Preference: The role of cultural transmission and diffusion during the process of rural-urban migration in China Xiaoyi Jin1,2 Shuzhuo Li (Principal Investigator)1 Marcus W. Feldman 2 and Haifeng Du1,2 1Institute for Population and Development StudiesXi’an Jiaotong University 2Morrison Institute for Population and Resource StudiesStanford University
CONTENTS 1. Background 2. Study Design 3. Survey & Data 4. Results 4.1 Brief characteristics of respondents 4.2 General features of out-migrating children and parents 4.3 Impact of social network on attitude evolution 4.4 Impact of out-migration on financial support 4.5 Summary 5. Analysis in progress
1. BACKGROUND Rural-urban migration • Household registration system (hukou) before 1978, confined most Chinese citizens to their place of birth; • Economic reforms since 1978 caused a significant rural labor surplus (the real unemployment rate is 34.8% for rural areas); • Urban-biased and pro-coastal development policy enabled cities to achieve rapid economic growth and attracted labor migration from rural to urban areas since the mid-1980s; • 140 million rural migrants residing in cities without required permanent legal status, 30% of rural labor force; • Circular migrants, moving back and forth frequently between rural and urban areas. Increasingly important in Chinese demographic change and social development.
Features • Urban population grows much faster than total population, especially in 1978-1988; • Rural-urban migration turns out to be the dominant source of Chinese urban growth in 1978-1999; • Most migration takes place across provinces, from inland rural areas to coastal urban areas; • Distances matter in the migration; • Provinces having the highest proportion of emigration: Sichuan (19%), Henan (14%), Anhui (11%), Hunan (8%), and Jianxi (6%); • Provinces having the highest proportion of immigration: Guangdong (31%), Zhejiang (10%), and Fujian (6%).
1. BACKGROUND Evolution of attitudes and behaviors • Rural areas: Strict patrilineal family system, low economic development level & strong son preference; • Urban areas: Son preference has been weakened by the process of modernization and improvement of the social security system; • Rural-urban migrants: Dramatic change of lifestyle and formation of new social networks have influenced their attitudes and behaviors.
Rural-urban migrants at a city railway station http://news.tom.com http://news.tom.com Strange environment: Eager eyes
Walking on the downtown street http://bbs.people.com.cn/bbs/ReadFile http://bbs.people.com.cn/bbs/ReadFile Rural-urban migrants and a permanent urban resident
1. BACKGROUND Phenomena: The original, strongly male-biased culture and behaviors are influenced by the modern culture in cities(evidence from two survey: “A Surveyof Female Migrants in Pudong, Shanghai”, 2002; “A Survey of Rural-urban Migrants in Shenzhen”, 2005) • Later marriage1,2; • Later childbearing1; • Weakened son preference1,3 but still with high SRB (Sex Ratio at Birth) in short term1,4; Aging & old-age support • Increased problems for elderly non-migrants5 Source: 1. Research report, “A survey of rural-urban migrants in Shenzhen, China”, Dec. 2005 2. Jin, Xiaoyi, et. al. 2005. Impacts of social network and integration on first marriage of female rural-urban immigrants: Evidence from survey in Pudong, Shanghai, Population and Economics (4): 53-58. 3. Li Shuzhuo, Wu Haixia, and Marcus W. Feldman. 2005. “Social network and son preference of rural-urban migrants in China: The case of Shenzhen”. Seminar on Female Deficit in Asia: Trends and Perspectives, December 5-7. Singapore 4 . Wu Haixia, Li Shuzhuo, and Yang Xusong. 2005. “Rural-urban migration and sex ratio at birth in urban China.” Population and Economics (6): 11-18. 5. Zeng, Yi and James Vaupel. 1989. The impact of urbanization and delayed childbearing on population growth and aging in China. Population and Development Review 15 (3): 425-445.
1. BACKGROUND Questions: Old-age support & son preference • How does the restructured social network influence migrants’ attitudes and behaviors towards aging life and son preference? • How does gender of the migrants influence intergenerational transfer? • Will the out-migration of females influence the traditional patrilineal pattern of old-age support? • Do the migrants give more financial help to their parents remaining in rural areas? • How much emotional support do elderly non-migrants receive from their out-migrating children? • Is the intergenerational transfer reciprocal?
2.1 Objectives 2. STUDY DESIGN • Migrants’ social networks in urban areas and integration into urban societies; • Evolution of attitudes and behaviors and their socio-demographic implications; • Complex network models; • Policy suggestions to improve social integration and sustainable development.
2.2 Methods • Methodology: Combining methods of sociology, demography, statistics, and complexity science, etc. • Quantitative methods • Social survey • Statistical analysis • Social network analysis • Simulation • Public policy analysis
3.1 Selection of Survey Sites 3. SURVEY & DATA Shenzhen, Guangdong province • Location: South of Guangdong; • History: Set up in 1979, established as “special economic region” in 1980; • Features: Representative of coastal and well-developed cities in China; • Six districts: Luohu, Futian, Nanshan, Yantian, Bao’an and Longgang; • Economy:High-tech, advanced manufacturing and service industries; the 4th highest GDP among Chinese cities in 2003. • Population(2000 census) • Total number: 7,008,800 • Average age: 30.8 • Ratio of migrants to permanent urban residents: 4.3:1 • Features: High density, Rapid increase, Low education level of labor force
3.2 Survey Components and Sampling Survey 3.2.1 Survey components • Community investigation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussion • Random street interviews • Respondents: Permanent urban residents and rural-urban migrants • 4 survey sites: Commercial streets • Implementation: April 18, 2005, 1 day • Number of qualifying questionnaires: 1,011 • Sampling survey (details are shown as follows) • Respondents: Rural-urban migrants
3.2.2 Sampling Survey • Classification of the respondents in sampling survey • Scattered residence:rural-urban migrants living in communities with high or medium proportion of permanent urban residents; • Concentrated residence:rural-urban migrants living together within a relatively concentrated community, with few permanent urban residents.
3.2.2 Sampling Survey • Duration of the sampling survey: April 20-27, 2005 • Composition of the sampling survey:
Survey sites(1):Concentrated residence • Dormitory of Airmate company, most of the workers living together • Respondents of Airmate are from one of the buildings, they live in the same floor and undertake the same kind of work. • Entrance of Airmate Co.
Survey sites(1):Concentrated residence • Dormitory • Interviews
3.2.2 Sampling Survey • Contents of the questionnaire
3.2.2 Sampling Survey • Sampling: methods and principles • Scattered residence: Systematic sampling 4 townships of 3 districts: Luohu, Yantian, and Nanshan • Concentrated residence: Cluster sampling 2 construction companies and 3 manufacturing companies in 3 districts: Nanshan, Longgang and Bao’an
3.2.2 Sampling Survey • Network data collection • Ego Network -Data collected from “Scattered & Concentrated Residence” • Respondents from Scattered Residence live dispersed among various communities, most of them have no contact with each other; • Data for statistical analysis. • Whole Network -Data collected from “Concentrated Residence” • Respondents from ConcentratedResidence live in the same community or dormitory (factories or construction sites) ; they are likely to know each other_ socio-matrixcan be structured; • Data for social network analysis, and complexity studies.
4. RESULTS 4.1 Brief characteristics of respondents Demographics of the samples from sampling survey
4. RESULTS 4.2 General features of out-migrating children and parents • Basic information of parents • Intergenerational support (financial, grandchild-care, emotional support) • Discussion network about aging life (network size, basic information of network members) • Attitudes toward future aging life • Comparison between migrants and city residents
4. RESULTS 4.3 Impact of social network on attitude evolution Analysis Framework • Overall effect of network members = • Ii: degree of intimacy of network member i, • Ai: attitude of network member i; • Weak ties: • Network members are Managers, Owners of private enterprise, Professional and technical personnel, and Officers.
4. RESULTS 4.4 Impact of out-migration on financial support Analysis Framework
4. RESULTS 4.4 Impact of out-migration on financial support Regression models
4. RESULTS 4.5 Summary • Basic characteristics of parents: • Parents of married children, especially parents of husbands, are older, more likely to live with grandchildren and rely on their children financially; • Gender difference: Consequence of Patrilineal family system • Stronger financial transfer between unmarried sons and parents; • Husbands’ parents receive more financial help and provide more childcare; • Unmarried daughters give more emotional support to parents; • Married daughters give balanced emotional support to two sets of parents. • Impact of children’s out-migration on old parents: • Increasing financial help • Decreasing emotional support and excess burden of child-care;
4. RESULTS 4.5 Summary • Discussion network about aging life • Smaller than marriage and childbearing discussion networks; • Strong ties (blood and geographical relations) are dominant but not in marriage and contraceptive use discussion networks. • Attitudes toward future aging life • More options for aging life after migration; • Females are influenced more significantly by urban culture. • Comparison of migrants and permanent urban residents • Rural migrants are more likely to rely on saving and children.
4. RESULTS 4.5 Summary • Impact of discussion network on attitude evolution • Attitudes of discussion network members significantly influence migrants’ attitudes towards old-age life and son preference; • Migration increases the likelihood of having a plan for living apart from children; • Weak ties in the discussion network and longer duration of living in cities weaken individual’s son preference; →Rural-urban migration helps to accelerate the process of attitude evolution.
4. RESULTS 4.5 Summary • Impact of out-migration of married children on financial support to parents • Both males and females provide more financial help to natal parents after migration →Out-migration of females could change the traditional pattern of old-age support and weaken son preference in rural China; • Gender difference: Females are likely to give parents-in-law more financial support →Patrilineal family system is still dominant; • Grandparents receive more remittance when they take care of grandchildren →Intergenerational transfer between parents and their migrant children is reciprocal.