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The Impact of Child and Elderly Care on the Employment Participation of Rural Women: Evidence from Six Central Provinces in China

Liu K, Deng Q, Hu J, Weng Z · 27 Jul 2026

Abstract

Abstract Achieving full employment is a critical indicator of modern governance. In Central China, a key agricultural and labor-exporting region, rural women face a profound trade-off between intensifying family caregiving responsibilities and market labor participation. Using unbalanced panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) for 2018, 2020, and 2022, this paper empirically investigates the impact of "child and elderly care" on rural women's employment decisions. The study employs panel fixed-effects logit models, Extended Regression Models (ERM) to address endogeneity, and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) for robustness. Findings show that family care burdens significantly inhibit overall employment participation but, conversely, promote participation in non-agricultural employment as a household income-boosting strategy. This impact is primarily mediated by reduced life satisfaction and increased unpaid working hours. Heterogeneity analysis reveals a strong age gradient: unlike elderly care, the negative effect of childcare diminishes as children age, eventually shifting to a positive influence on non-agricultural work. Furthermore, care burdens act as a "push factor" for inter-provincial migration in the Central region, a pattern that remains insignificant in Eastern China. The results also highlight distinct variations across genders and between pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. Accordingly, this study proposes a "Trinity" policy framework: local governments should create flexible job opportunities tailored to county-level economies; inclusive public services should be strengthened to lower migration barriers; and social norms must be guided toward shared family responsibilities.