Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T00:32:44.488Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of older adults in the family on the sandwich generation's pursuit of entrepreneurship: evidence from China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2021

Yiwei Liu Open the ORCID record for Yiwei Liu [Opens in a new window] ,
Wenjing Wang Open the ORCID record for Wenjing Wang [Opens in a new window] ,
Zhen Cong  and
Zhirui Chen
Yiwei Liu
Affiliation:
School of Government, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
Wenjing Wang*
Affiliation:
School of Statistics and Mathematics, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
Zhen Cong
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
Zhirui Chen
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: wenjingwang@cufe.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Household entrepreneurship is a basic unit of entrepreneurial activity, and a crucial aspect of connecting personal and social wellbeing. This study examines the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. This study also assesses the mediating effect of the middle-aged generation's support to their parents and the moderating effect of the parents’ support with respect to the proportion of elderly family members and entrepreneurship. We use data from the China Family Panel Studies. We adopt the instrumental variable method to deal with endogeneity, robustness and credibility of the estimation results. The results show that a higher proportion of elderly family members impedes household entrepreneurship. Moreover, the financial and instrumental support provided by the middle-aged generation to their parents significantly mediates the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. In turn, parents’ financial support to the middle-aged generation moderates the focal relationship; however, parents’ instrumental support does not moderate the focal relationship. These findings emphasise the need to develop a comprehensive social security network for older adults that will indirectly promote household entrepreneurship, and improve personal and social wellbeing.

Keywords

proportion of elderly family membershousehold entrepreneurshipintergenerational support
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , February 2022 , pp. 331 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arruñada, B (2010) Protestants and catholics: similar work ethic, different social ethic. The Economic Journal 120, 890–918.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banerjee, AV and Newman, AF (1993) Occupational choice and the process of development. Journal of Political Economy 101, 274–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, G (1974) A theory of social interactions. Journal of Political Economy 82, 1063–1094.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cagetti, M and Nardi, MD (2006) Entrepreneurship, frictions, and wealth. Journal of Political Economy 114, 835–870.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cai, J and Stoyanov, A (2016) Population aging and comparative advantage. Journal of International Economics 102, 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, F and Mair, LCA (2011) Intergenerational ties in context: grandparents caring for grandchildren in China. Social Forces 90, 571–594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, S and Wills, TA (1985) Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin 98, 310–357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Compton, J (2013) Family proximity and the labor force status of women in Canada. Review of Economics of the Household 13, 323–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cong, Z and Silverstein, M (2012) Caring for grandchildren and intergenerational support in rural China: a gendered extended family perspective. Ageing & Society 32, 425–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, D (1987) Motives for private income transfers. Journal of Political Economy 95, 508–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cumming, D and Johan, S (2010) The differential impact of the internet on spurring regional entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 10, 857–883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dan, KH, Wiklund, J and Anderson, SE (2016) Entrepreneurial exit intentions and the business–family interface. Journal of Business Venturing 31, 613–627.Google Scholar
De Mel, S, McKenzie, D and Woodruff, C (2008) Returns to capital in microenterprises: evidence from a field experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics 123, 1329–1372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, T and Holtz-Eakin, D (2000) Financial capital, human capital, and the transition to self-employment: evidence from intergenerational links. Journal of Labor Economics 18, 282–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eddleston, KA and Powell, GN (2012) Nurturing entrepreneurs’ work–family balance: a gendered perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 36, 513–541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edelman, LF, Manolova, T and Shirokova, G (2016) The impact of family support on young entrepreneurs’ start-up activities. Journal of Business Venturing 31, 428–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, DS and Leighton, LS (1989) Some empirical aspects of entrepreneurship. American Economic Review 11, 79–99.Google Scholar
Gong, F, Wang, Z and Yu, JL (2019) Aging population, generational balance, and public welfare expenditure. Economic Research Journal 8, 103–119.Google Scholar
Greenhaus, JH and Powell, GN (2006) When work and family are allies: a theory of work–family enrichment. Academy of Management Review 31, 72–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guo, M, Chi, I and Silverstein, M (2012) The structure of intergenerational relations in rural China: a latent class analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family 74, 1114–1128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guo, KM, Yu, JW and Gong, LT (2016) Demographic transition, entrepreneurship and growth. China Economic Quarterly 15, 989–1010.Google Scholar
Hsu, DK, Wiklund, J, Anderson, SE and Coffey, BS (2016) Entrepreneurial exit intentions and the business–family interface. Journal of Business Venturing 31, 613–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurst, E and Lusardi, A (2004) Liquidity constraints, household wealth, and entrepreneurship. Journal of Political Economy 112, 319–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, SE, Zedeck, S and Summers, E (1985) Family life disruptions: effects of job-induced structural and emotional interference. Academy of Management Journal 28, 574–586.Google Scholar
Jennings, JE and McDougald, MS (2007) Work–family interface experiences and coping strategies: implications for entrepreneurship research and practice. Academy of Management Review 326, 747–760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Justo, R, DeTienne, DR and Sieger, P (2015) Failure or voluntary exit? Reassessing the female underperformance hypothesis. Journal of Business Venturing 30, 775–792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ko, PC and Hank, K (2014) Grandparents caring for grandchildren in China and Korea: findings from CHARLS and KLOSA. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 69B, 646–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lazear, EP (2004) Balanced skills and entrepreneurship. American Economic Review 94, 208–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, J and Giullari, S (2005) The adult worker model family, gender equality and care: the search for new policy principles and the possibilities and problems of a capabilities approach. Economy and Society 34, 76–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liang, J, Wang, H and Lazear, EP (2018) Demographics and entrepreneurship. Journal of Political Economy 126, S140–S196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, JP and Yi, CC (2011) Filial norms and intergenerational support to aging parents in China and Taiwan. International Journal of Social Welfare 20, S109–S120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McManus, K, Korabik, K, Rosin, HM and Kelloway, EK (2002) Employed mothers and the work–family interface: does family structure matter? Human Relations 55, 1295–1324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minns, C and Rizov, M (2005) The spirit of capitalism? Ethnicity, religion, and self-employment in early 20th century Canada. Explorations in Economic History 42, 259–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, GN and Eddleston, KA (2013) Linking family-to-business enrichment and support to entrepreneurial success: do female and male entrepreneurs experience different outcomes? Journal of Business Venturing 28, 261–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rehman, S and Azam Roomi, M (2012) Gender and work–life balance: a phenomenological study of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 19, 209–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez, P, Tuggle, CS and Hackett, SM (2009) An exploratory study of how potential ‘family and household capital’ impacts new venture start-up rates. Family Business Review 22, 259–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shelton, LM (2006) Female entrepreneurs, work–family conflict, and venture performance: new insights into the work–family interface. Journal of Small Business Management 44, 285–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheng, X and Settles, BH (2006) Intergenerational relationships and elderly care in China. Current Sociology 54, 293–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, DA, Wiklund, J and Haynie, JM (2009) Moving forward: balancing the financial and emotional costs of business failure. Journal of Business Venturing 24, 134–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sieger, P and Minola, T (2017) The family's financial support as a ‘poisoned gift’: a family embeddedness perspective on entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Small Business Management 55, 179–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stock, JH, Wright, JH and Yogo, M (2002) A survey of weak instruments and weak identification in generalized method of moments. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics 20, 518–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, W and Xian, JK (2020) Population aging and entrepreneurship in the households. Chinese Journal of Population Science 1, 113–128.Google Scholar
Wennberg, K, Wiklund, J, DeTienne, DR and Cardon, MS (2010) Reconceptualizing entrepreneurial exit: divergent exit routes and their drivers. Journal of Business Venturing 25, 361–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, PK, Ho, YP and Autio, E (2005) Entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth: evidence from GEM data. Small Business Economics 24, 335–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xie, Y and Jin, YA (2015) Household wealth in China. Chinese Sociological Review 47, 203–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yao, Y (2001) A review of the researches on providing for the aged in household in China. Population & Economics 1, 33–43.Google Scholar
Zhan, HJ, Liu, G and Guan, X (2006) Willingness and availability: explaining new attitudes toward institutional elder care among Chinese elderly parents and their adult children. Journal of Aging Studies 20, 279–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, CC and Chen, BK (2014) Can “public pension system” substitutes “family mutual insurance”. Economic Research Journal 11, 102–115.Google Scholar
Zhang, Y, Salm, M and Van Soest, A (2018) The effect of retirement on healthcare utilization: evidence from China. Journal of Health Economics 10, 165–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, GS and Li, LX (2016) Does endowment insurance promote rural entrepreneurship? Journal of World Economy 11, 174–194.Google Scholar
Zhu, C and Yang, Y (2018) ‘Gnawing’ or ‘nurturing’: the double-edged sword of elderly raising on children's entrepreneurship. Economic Science 5, 94–105.Google Scholar