“RAISE CHILDREN TO FIGHT AGAINST AGING”: THE DETERMINANTS OF ELDERLY WELLBEING IN TODAY’S CHINA

As the old Chinese saying goes, “raise children to fight against aging” is used to describe the most desirable life arrangement for Chinese elderly people, as it reflects the core idea of filial piety that lies near the heart of the Confucian doctrine regulating society. In a fast-changing economy,...

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Published inSingapore economic review Vol. 66; no. 6; pp. 1613 - 1645
Main Authors PENG, CONGMIN, SHE, PO-WEN
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Singapore World Scientific Publishing Company 01.12.2021
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte., Ltd
Subjects
Aging
Children
Economic theory
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Health care
Older people
Pensions
Retirement
Rural areas
Rural communities
Well being
China
filial piety
happiness
elderly
China
living arrangement
Wellbeing
depression
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Summary:As the old Chinese saying goes, “raise children to fight against aging” is used to describe the most desirable life arrangement for Chinese elderly people, as it reflects the core idea of filial piety that lies near the heart of the Confucian doctrine regulating society. In a fast-changing economy, are these traditional values still hold for Chinese elderly? Applying the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we explore the determinants of elderly’s wellbeing in modern China. We have a particular interest in whether living with their children, receiving pecuniary/material transfer or support from children or having more children significantly affects the wellbeing of the elderly. We find that these factors have no significance in affecting the wellbeing of the elderly in China. Furthermore, among the factors significantly determining the wellbeing of Chinese elderly people, pensions and health care are very important, particularly to the elderly in rural areas. Notably, gross domestic product (GDP) level of the province or municipality, where the elderly habitats have a significant impact on elderly’s wellbeing and this echoes with some contemporary research.
ISSN:0217-5908
1793-6837
DOI:10.1142/S0217590818420031