| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 農業經濟學研究所 === 104 === The incompatibility of female time allocation between labor supply and child care has been the main explanation of low fertility rate in developed countries since 1970s. By relaxing wives’ time restriction, non-maternal care especially those from grandparents or formal care, alleviates this problem and thus permits household to have more children.
Grandparents’ health condition is one of the key elements used to evaluate the availability of non-maternal childcare. However, only limited studies signified and measured its influence on family fertility decision. Based on the Panel Study of Chinese Family Dynamics (PSFD) from 2004 to 2011, this study examines the effect of grandparents’ health on household fertility decisions in Taiwan using a sequential probit model.
Empirical results suggest grandparents’ health condition has different impacts depending on the elders’ age. Only family having healthy grandparents between 55-64 years old will the availability of grandparents positively influence family’s desire to have more children. Moreover, it is found that the number of healthy grandmothers aged 55-64 has a larger effect compared with the total number of healthy grandparents, which reveals the important role of female in childcare.
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