Multi-agent Participation Of Community-based Elderly Care:a Perspective From Welfare Pluralism

Community-based elderly care is becoming an important component in China’s diversified elderly care sysyem,with the enormous trend of ageing population.However,domestic sociology studies are more committed to explaining phenomenon in reality rather than investigating theoretical model,causing weaker economic understanding of the community-based elderly care choice.Based on mathematical theoretical modeling and empirical analysis,this thesis identifies influencing factors of decision making of households with elderlies when facing ageing in community,as well as those of community care enterprises,and its heterogeneous impacts.Firstly,based on the theory of welfare pluralism,the thesis builds a theoretical model of multi-agent elderly care supplies including government sector,commercial sector,community sector and informal sector.The theoretical model shows that the care choice of household involves a trade-off between care receiving and other consumptions.Changes in macroeconomic conditions will change the equilibrium point,and have heterogeneous effects on households in different market conditions and households with different utility preferences.Secondly,this thesis conducts empirical research on the influencing factors of household care decision,based on the CHARLS investigation data.The results show that factors including personal characteristics,personal health,family characteristics,family housing,and community condition,all have impacts on household’s care choice.Under the full-sample regression,individual and family-level factors majorly influence elderlies’ home care decisions,while community-level factors majorly influence elderlies’ community care decisions,public care decisions and commercial care choices.Economic factors such as local commodity price level,community subsidies,etc.,have significant heterogeneous impacts on elderls’ care decisions of those with different utility preferences.Based on the theory of welfare pluralis,the thesis also discusses the expansion decisions of community care enterprises.The theoretical model shows that such expansion decision of community care enterprises involves a trade-off between profit and public welfare,which is affected by factors such as the nature of the enterprise,social macroeconomic factors,and the family’s recognition of enterprise elderly care.The thesis further explores the correlation of community emterprise expansion and some macroeconomic factors with the use of civil affairs data and economic data,as an empirical explanation for the results of theoretical model.Finally,with the aim of constructing a community care market with both welfare and economic feasibility,and promoting the social transformation of regional elderly care services,the thesis provides suggestions for the establishment of local government policy goals and the use of specific policy tools.