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

Congmin Peng and Po-Wen She
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Congmin Peng: Department of Business Management, College of Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 70 Lienhai Road, Kaohsiung City, 80424, Taiwan, ROC
Po-Wen She: Department of Financial Management, College of Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 70 Lienhai Road, Kaohsiung City, 80424, Taiwan, ROC3The University of Cambridge, The Old School Trinity Ln, Cambridge CB2 1TN

The Singapore Economic Review (SER), 2021, vol. 66, issue 06, 1613-1645

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Wellbeing; happiness; depression; elderly; China; living arrangement; filial piety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1142/S0217590818420031

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