| The labor force participation rate and the length of labor time of women in China have been among the top in the world,indicating that women in China have actively participated in various fields of economic and social development and realized their self-development and selfworth through the labor market.At the same time,with nearly 70%of our 20-34 women in marriage,the family is also a position for women to exert their energy and contribute,taking on the responsibilities of motherhood and wifehood.However,in the current research,numerous studies have focused on individual characteristics and family characteristics,institutions and other factors affecting female labor supply,while neglecting the study of the effects of female labor supply,especially the study of family effects of female labor supply,which cannot better explain why dual-earner families are more common in China and cannot accurately determine the value contribution of female labor to families in China.Therefore,it has become necessary to study exactly how women’s labor input affects the family.How to theoretically derive and empirically verify the relationship between women’s labor time and family welfare,how to define the non-normative concept of family welfare,and how to distinguish the difference between the effect of men’s time investment on family welfare effect and women’s is the purpose of this paper to explore the embodiment of labor force value,protect women’s employment rights and interests,promote sustainable family development,and promote social harmony in theory and practice.To this end,this paper takes female labor force as the research object and the effect of labor time input on household welfare as the research scope,and uses both theoretical reasoning and empirical tests to analyze the household welfare effect of female labor time input.The research in this paper refines labor time and subdivides family welfare,specifically subdividing labor time into three perspectives:length of labor time,optimal labor time,and classification of labor time,and dividing family welfare into several aspects:economic welfare,residential welfare,social welfare,psychological welfare,and comprehensive family welfare.A detailed and systematic study of this issue is conducive to focusing on the contribution of female labor input to household development,constructing the mechanism of the household welfare effect of female labor time input,measuring the household welfare effect of female labor time input,and exploring the law of the overall household welfare effect of female labor time input.Based on theoretical analysis and literature combing,this study has done the following parts:First,from the macro level,objectively describe the current situation of labor supply behavior and residents’ welfare in China,summarize its characteristics,and lay a realistic foundation for subsequent research;Second,from the theoretical level,we explore the inner logical relationship between labor time and family welfare,and analyze the theoretical model and formation mechanism of the relationship between them;Third,at the empirical level,the data from the China Family Tracking Survey(CFPS)database for three periods from 20142018 were selected as the research sample,and the overall household welfare effect was constructed using the fuzzy integrated evaluation method based on the OLS model,the instrumental variables method,and the Oprobit model,to explore the effects of female labor time input on each and overall household welfare from the sub-item and the overall respectively;Fourth,we compare the effects of labor time inputs on household welfare between men and women from a gender perspective and at the level of heterogeneity,and examine the effects of women’s labor time inputs on household welfare under different conditions of marital status and household size;Fifth,to determine and re-examine the practical significance and policy value of the family welfare effect of women’s labor time investment from the policy level,and provide reference suggestions for the healthy development of China’s labor market and family.The specific studies and findings of this paper are as follows:First,from the macro level,we objectively describe the current situation of labor supply behavior and residents’ welfare in China,summarize its characteristics,and lay a realistic foundation for subsequent research.Starting from the basis of labor supply behavior,this study uses macro data and survey data to reflect the labor time input and residents’ welfare status in four aspects:legal labor time,actual labor time,household economic status and household noneconomic status,summarizes their characteristics,and provides an objective and realistic basis for further analysis of the impact of women’s labor time input on household welfare effects.The findings of this chapter are as follows:1.Since 1979,the legal labor hours in China have been shortened from 48 hours to 40 hours per week,but the actual labor hours are higher than the legal labor hours by 6 hours,and the excessive labor hours are still the main feature of the labor market in China at this stage.2.China’s residents’ income and labor income are also steadily increasing with a year-on-year trend,and the residents’ savings rate and per capita consumption expenditure are generally on the rise.3.The residents’ living conditions and quality have greatly improved,the standard of living has continued to rise,family happiness,and subjective satisfaction with the residents’ quality of life has stabilized,indicating a steady improvement in the overall welfare of the residents.Second,at the theoretical level,we explore the intrinsic logical relationship between labor time and family welfare,and analyze the theoretical model and formation mechanism of the relationship.This part is mainly based on mature theories such as hierarchy of needs theory and family economics theory,deriving and analyzing the connotation and feasibility of family welfare in China at the present stage,constructing a theoretical model of the influence of labor time input on family welfare and the influence mechanism,and providing important theoretical support for the theoretical research of this thesis.The findings of this chapter are as follows:1.Based on the analysis of family functions and hierarchy of needs theory,four dimensions of family economic status,family living environment,family social relations and subjective psychological state can be selected to construct a theoretical framework for measuring family welfare,trying to define the non-normative concept of family welfare,taking into account the research topic and China’s actual situation.2.Construct a household welfare function based on utilityism and Bergson’s social welfare function,and introduce Becker and the extended time allocation model into the household welfare function to establish a theoretical model of the impact of labor time input on household welfare and lay the foundation model for empirical analysis.3.To analyze the relationship between occupational status and family welfare from both overall and micro perspectives,to establish the formation mechanism and influencing factors of the impact of labor time input on family welfare,and to provide reference for the selection of control variables in the econometric model.Third,empirically,for women,labor time input has a significant effect on household welfare.Using CFPS microdata,the fuzzy integrated evaluation method is used to measure the comprehensive household welfare,and the OLS,Oprobit model,instrumental variables method,and robustness test are used to refine the impact of female labor time input on each and overall household welfare in three aspects:impact trend,impact relationship,and impact degree.The findings of this chapter are as follows:1.The trend of the effects of female labor time investment on each and overall family welfare shows that female labor time investment has positive effects on each and overall family welfare,i.e.,economic,residential,social and psychological effects of female labor time investment and family welfare effects.2.In terms of the relationship between women’s labor time input on various items and overall family welfare,the relationship between women’s labor time input on family economic status,family living environment and family welfare is inverted "U" type;the relationship between women’s labor time input on family social relations is "U "The influence on family social relations is U-shaped.3.In terms of the degree of influence of female labor time input on each and overall family welfare,there are stage effects of female labor time input on household economic status,household living environment and overall family welfare,respectively,and no stage effects on household social relations and subjective psychological state.4.The above findings suggest that women’s labor time inputs reflect the direction and extent of their household welfare effects,demonstrating the value contribution of women’s labor to the household.It also explains part of the reasons for the high employment participation rate of women in China,but the boundary conflict and time contradiction between workplace responsibilities and wife and motherhood,under the effect of a series of factors such as competitive pressure in the labor market and adjustment of maternity policy,bring certain challenges to women’s own development,family development and social harmony.Fourth,from an empirical perspective,there are significant gender differences in the effects of labor time inputs on household welfare by gender.Using CFPS microdata and a combination of OLS,Oprobit model,instrumental variables method and other econometric analysis methods,we compare the gender differences in the effects of labor time inputs on each and overall household welfare in terms of the trend of effects,the relationship of effects and the degree of effects.The findings of this chapter are as follows:1.Overall,the marginal effect of household welfare of female labor time investment is higher than that of male,the economic effect of female labor time investment is 1.49 times that of male,the residential effect,social effect and psychological effect of female labor time investment are greater than that of male,but the effect of female labor time investment on household income is lower than that of male.2.In the perspective of maximizing family welfare,the labor time input is 73.06 hours and 68.26 hours for men and women,respectively,which both exceed the actual labor time.3.The above findings suggest that the marginal contribution of women to family welfare is valueadded and may be an important consideration in making dual-earner families a common trend.It is generally believed that family members with males acting as the breadwinner of the family may accordingly have an advantage in the marginal contribution to the family.According to the findings of this study,the marginal contribution of female labor to the family is higher than that of males,which to some extent reflects the fact that males bear the main source of family income and meet the basic survival needs of the family,while female labor has a value-added effect on the family with a greater marginal contribution.4.The above findings also reflect that the income effect of women is lower than that of men,the realistic gap between men’s and women’s income,and also the current low rate of return to labor,which cannot reach the goal of maximizing family welfare.The issue of labor returns should be focused on,especially on narrowing the income gap,so as to help expand the middle-income group and achieve common prosperity.Fifth,from an empirical perspective,this paper also examines the impact of female labor time input on household welfare at different conditions of marital status and household size at the level of heterogeneity.The findings of this chapter are as follows:1.From the perspective of marital status,the effect of married women’s labor time input on family welfare is more obvious.For each unit increase in labor time of married women,family welfare increases by about 0.05%,and there is also an inverted "U"-shaped relationship with family welfare,and the effect on family welfare is more significant in intervals.There is a "U" shaped relationship between labor time and family welfare for unmarried women,implying that the effect of family welfare decreases first and then increases with the increase of labor time input.2.From the perspective of family size,women with small family size have a prominent effect on family welfare.For women with small family size,every increase in working hours of one unit increases family welfare by about 0.06%,and there is also an inverted u-shaped relationship with family welfare,and the impact on family welfare is more significant across regions.3.The above findings suggest that married women contribute more to family welfare than unmarried women,implying that family responsibilities promote women’s growth and commitment,which is perhaps the old adage that "mother is a strength",i.e.,marriage and family enhance women’s sense of responsibility.4.The above findings show that the magnitude of parenting responsibilities also has an impact on the welfare effects of families,both in terms of child rearing and elderly support,which include not only direct economic costs but also indirect time costs and opportunity costs for families.This should be the social policy orientation that families,especially women,are looking forward to.Sixth,from the policy level,this study makes a general determination of the family welfare effects of female labor time on the basis of summarizing the main research findings,explains the inner mechanism of the family welfare effects of female labor time investment by relating it to real-world problems,determines and re-examines the practical significance and policy value of the family welfare effects of female labor time investment,and provides reference suggestions for the healthy development of China’s labor market and families.The findings of this chapter are as follows:1.Based on theoretical and empirical analysis,this paper gives the following determinations:the contribution of female labor input to the household in terms of labor value verifies Marx’s theory.From a gender perspective,the marginal contribution of female labor input to the household is greater than that of men;from the welfare effect,the labor return profile does not satisfy the maximization requirement.2.By linking to real-life problems,we try to explain the intrinsic reasons for the effect of women’s labor time invested in family welfare,and on this basis,we propose suggestions and countermeasures to expand the middle-income group,increase the wage income level of low-income groups,promote supportive policies for employed families and correctly guide young people’s views on marriage and childbirth,respectively,in terms of labor value,gender roles and family welfare. |
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