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Relative Pay of Domestic Eldercare Workers in Shanghai, China

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  • Xiao-yuan Dong
  • Jin Feng
  • Yangyang Yu

Abstract

Domestic services represent a growing sector of the economy in many high- and upper-middle income countries. Demand for domestic workers for eldercare is especially high as a result of the rapid aging of the population in these countries. However, domestic eldercare employment is characterized as a low-pay, low-status occupation worldwide. This article examines the relative pay of domestic eldercare workers in urban China and its underlying determinants. The estimates show that when holding observable individual characteristics constant, domestic eldercare workers earn 28 percent less than other types of workers in the service sector in Shanghai. The analysis attributes the low wages of eldercare workers to the fact that domestic paid work is culturally devalued, eldercare is performed by workers from the most marginalized segments of Shanghai's labor force, and the users of eldercare are relatively poor among the users of domestic services.

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  • Xiao-yuan Dong & Jin Feng & Yangyang Yu, 2017. "Relative Pay of Domestic Eldercare Workers in Shanghai, China," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 135-159, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:23:y:2017:i:1:p:135-159
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2016.1143108
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    Cited by:

    1. Jingyi Ai & Jin Feng & Yangyang Yu, 2022. "Elderly Care Provision and the Impact on Caregiver Health in China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(5), pages 206-226, September.
    2. Feng Xu, 2022. "Building China’s Eldercare Market: The Imperatives of Capital Accumulation and Social Stability," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, May.
    3. OKUBO Shoki & KAWATA Keisuke & YIN Ting & ZHONG Renyao, 2019. "Income Stratification of Potential Care Workers among Internal Migrants in China," Discussion papers 19079, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. de Bruin, Anne & Liu, Na, 2020. "The urbanization-household gender inequality nexus: Evidence from time allocation in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

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