The Elderly Parents'Assistance in Childcare and Fertility Willingness:Evidence from Household Survey of China
Amid China's fully liberalized fertility policy and the declining fertility rate,this paper investigates the effects of the elderly parents'assistance in childcare on the fertility intentions of the couples in their childbearing years based on the data from China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)2010-2018.The results show that the elderly parents'assistance in childcare has a significant positive effect on fertility intentions of the young couples,and it had enhanced the effective implementation of the comprehensive two-child policy.Considering endogenous issues,we test the finding by the application of alternative measurement,IV estimation,and other robustness tests,and the conclusion remains robust.Further mechanisms analysis shows that the elderly parents'childcare can promote the young couple's fertility willingness by reducing the time cost associated with caring for family and taking housework as well as by the enhancement effect of the children's health.However,the elderly parents'assistance in childcare on fertility intentions vary significantly among the different couples of childbearing ages,and it enhances more effectively the fertility intentions of the couples which both spouses are the only-child of their parents.This research enriches the research on intra-family factors influencing fertility intentions and offers a directions for the polices to mitigate the decline of China's fertility rate.
Elderly parents'assistance in childcareFertility willingnessChina's fertility policyMechanism study
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
