{"paper_id":"20f23277-4088-496c-a1b4-587dbd2a138e","body_text":"Heterogeneous Stratification How Market Forces Influence the Quality of Home-Based Elderly Care —— Based on empirical research from two phases of CHARLS and CGSS data | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Heterogeneous Stratification How Market Forces Influence the Quality of Home-Based Elderly Care —— Based on empirical research from two phases of CHARLS and CGSS data Xuesi Ning, Xinyu Lu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7663860/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Social security is a major issue in governing and securing a nation, with elderly care being a crucial aspect of supporting high-quality population development towards Chinese-style modernization. This paper takes home-based elderly care as an example, utilizing the latest data from the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). By introducing and expanding the welfare governance framework, it systematically analyzes from a structural perspective the logic behind how market forces affect the quality of home-based elderly care. The study finds that improvements in the quality of home-based elderly care largely depend on the continuous role of market forces. Based on the propensity score matching—two-way fixed effects model method, this paper argues that market forces have a net effect on the quality of home-based elderly care, especially significant for elderly social participation and in rural areas. Further explanation reveals that the impact of market forces on the quality of home-based elderly care shows crowding-out effects, scale effects, and synergistic effects, characterized by \"heterogeneous stratification\". This enriches the connotation of the social security system with Chinese characteristics. The paper provides empirical evidence for understanding the relationship between high-quality development and high-quality life. Humanities/Health humanities Humanities/Medical humanities Social science/Social policy Social science/Sociology Social security system with Chinese characteristics Market forces Home-based elderly care High-quality life Welfare governance Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-7663860\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":541942102,\"identity\":\"24a4bf1c-1dee-4bac-9250-da08bcde190e\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Xuesi Ning\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"Tsinghua University\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Xuesi\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Ning\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":541942103,\"identity\":\"85385afc-45a1-4f3c-9ff7-064a8bed9f1f\",\"order_by\":1,\"name\":\"Xinyu 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