Scientific Presentations
LabTalks@DCD
Department of Digital and Computational Demography
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), Rostock, Germany, January 15, 2025
Sha Jiang from the Research Group: Kinship Inequalities and the Laboratory of Population Dynamics and Sustainable Well-Being gave a talk on the role of education in family support networks in China.
Abstract
Improving human capital through investments in higher education is one key strategy to address the socioeconomic challenges derived from rapid population aging China. This study uses demographic projections to consider the potential effect of future improvements in educational attainment on caregiving demands in China using demographic models. As a first step, we use a kinship model and demographic rates to estimate the number and age of kin for older individuals in China from 1950 to 2100. We integrate the resulting kin estimates with educational attainment data to analyze the educational composition of kinship networks. To assess the relevance of education for caregiving demand and capacity, we link this with data on labor force participation and health outcomes from probabilistic surveys. This allows us to use a novel dependency ratio that accounts for kin availability and economic and health factors. Our results suggest that higher educational attainment is associated with increased labor force participation and better health outcomes for working-age kin, while for older kin, higher education is linked to improved health but lower labor force participation. If we assume a rapid educational expansion, the burden on healthy working-age kin supporting less healthy older kin is reduced. These findings suggest that educational improvements reveal changes in the human capital of kin, reshaping family support dynamics. Caregiving demands may become more concentrated for populations with limited family ties—such as those without children or with only one child. Investments in higher education, which increase the human capital of kin, may help alleviate some of the pressure on informal care networks.
About
Sha Jiang is a research scientist in the Research Group Kinship Inequalities and the Department Digital and Computational Demography at MPIDR. By integrating statistical modeling, demographic analysis, and interdisciplinary perspectives, she explores how demographic processes shape health outcomes, caregiving dynamics, and social inequalities at the population, family, and individual levels. www.shajiang.me/