The Influence Of Child Rearing On The Labor Supply Decision Of Married Females In Cities And Towns

The policy of "comprehensive second child" in China is now fully open and it is possible for families to choose to have children.Due to the higher level of gender equality in cities and towns,the labor participation rate of Chinese urban women has been at a relatively high level.The implementation of the "family planning" policy has formed the concept of higher standards for raising and educating the one-child family,which has caused an increase in the time and money spent on care.With the increase in the number of children,the time allocation of the married workforce between labor participation and family care will also be affected.Female labor participation rate and labor time may decrease as the number of children increases,and this "work-family" conflict is particularly prominent in towns.Does child care affect the labor supply of both urban and female households to the same extent?In order to answer these questions,this article examines the gender differences in the impact of child nurturing on labor supply to urban populations from the perspective of gender equality.From the aspect of whether they participate in labor and labor time,compare the difference in the supply of men and women's labor supply caused by the children's tending to reflect the gender equality of labor.From the analysis of the income and substitution effects of children's nurturing,we analyze the relationship between urban women and the time cost and the cost of money needed for their children's nurturing,so as to maximize family effectiveness.The empirical analysis is divided into two parts.In the first part,the analysis of gender differences in labor participation and working hours for married women and men in urban areas was conducted.The empirical results show that:With the increase in the number of minor children,the labor participation and working hours of married women will be significantly reduced;while the labor participation and working hours of married men are basically not affected.Through the comparison of the differences in labor supply decisions between men and women,it can be found that the impact of women's child care is more significant than that of men.The second part,based on the perspective of income effect and substitution effect,analyzes the mechanism of the influence of the number of children on the labor supply of women,examines the influence of the number of children on the labor supply of married women in urban areas,and uses the tool variable method and the Heckman two-step method to solve the problem of the number of children.The problem of sample selectivity bias in the equations of life and working time.The empirical results show that in the impact on the labor supply of married women in urban areas,the effect of tending on labor participation is dominated by the effects of labor on the participation of women who do not have minor children.Labor time is prolonged;compared to the tending of 1 child,2 or more children have a dominant substitution effect on the labor supply of women,which shows that the married women in urban areas have lower levels of labor participation,and to a certain extent will reduce the labor supply.time.Non-wage income also affects women's labor participation.The higher the spouse's income,the lower the female labor participation rate and participation time.This study finds the gender differences in labor supply between men and women,observes the different labor supply choices faced by both sexes from the perspective of child nurturing,and reveals the formation mechanism of labor supply decisions for married women while pursuing the maximization of the family's overall utility.It is hoped that a policy of balancing employment between the sexes will be proposed to eliminate the policy recommendations on women' s "work-family" conflicts.