Hybridization in China's elder care service provision

Abstract

Although the party-state has embarked on a mission to increase elder care services, evaluating this development according to different sectors demonstrates certain challenges. Official statistics do not include sector-specific information, and while provider websites suggest that elder care services are largely in public hands, Chinese experts argue that they are mostly "civilian-run." How can we explain these discrepancies in data on Chinese elder care? Drawing on the concept of hybridization and triangulating quantitative and qualitative data, I argue that the partystate's efforts to "socialize" elder care provision has resulted in hybridization within the industry which blurs the line between care providers and obfuscates the stark role of the state in elder care service provision. During the implementation of state-initiated hybridization, providers misclassify their ownership type to benefit from financial incentives or circumvent political control, resulting in even greater hybridization and fragmentation on the ground.

Marketization of Eldercare in Urban China: Processes, Effects, and Implications

“…I acknowledge that there are many problems with Chinese government statistical data, resulting in certain limitations of this study (Holz, 2014;Maags, 2020a). I have taken several steps to ensure that potential inaccuracies within the data are considered.…”

“…Second, the data were deliberately chosen as they depict the differences between provider types. In contrast, in most official statistics, Chinese eldercare providers are distinguished as either “public” 公办 or “private” 民办; as “private” includes both for-profit and nonprofit providers, it is difficult to discern what is meant by “private” in these data (Maags, 2020a). The data used for this study, however, differentiate providers as for-profit, nonprofit, and public-private partnerships (PPPs) (of different kinds), thereby removing some of the obstacles associated with the typical Chinese categorization of eldercare providers.…”

The contribution of alternative types of care on life satisfaction among disabled older persons in China

“…The COVID-19 emergency blocks social interaction, increases the informal care need, while limiting delivery of informal care due to the prevention rules (Cipolletta et al ., 2023). To date, the government has not offered guidance on the relative role to be played by informal and formal care (Feng et al ., 2020; Maags, 2020).…”