Ceaseless Toil? Health and Labor Supply of the Elderly in Rural China

Purpose The need for a universal rural pension system has been heightened by demographic changes in rural China, including the rapid aging of the nation’s rural population and a dramatic decline in fertility. In response to these changes, China’s Government introduced the New Rural Social Pension Program (NRSPP) in 2009, a voluntary and highly subsidized pension scheme. The purpose of this paper is to assess the participation of rural farmers in the NRSPP. Furthermore, the authors examine whether the NRSPP affects the labor supply of the elderly population in China. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses household-level data from a sample of 2,020 households originating from a survey conducted by the authors in five provinces, 25 counties, and 101 villages in rural China. Using a probit model and conducting correlation analysis, the authors demonstrate the factors affecting the participation and the impact of NRSPP on labor supply of the rural elderly. Findings The results show there are several factors that are correlated with participation, such as specific policy variant in force in the respective household's province, the size of the pension payout from government, the age of sample individuals, and the value of household durable assets. Specifically, different characteristics of NRSPP policy implementation increase participation in China’s social pension program. The results suggest that the introduction of the NRSPP has not affected the labor supply of the rural elderly, in general, although it has reduced participation for the elderly who were in poor health. Originality/value Several previous studies have covered the NRSPP. However, all previous studies were based on case studies or just focused on a small region, and for this reason the results cannot reflect the populations and heterogeneity of rural areas. Therefore, a data set with a large sample size is used in this paper to provide a new perspective to fully understand the participation of NRSPP and its impacts on rural households. This paper will make an update contribution to the literature in the area of pension programs in China.

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Labor Supply and Poverty of the Elderly

The Journal of Korean Public Policy ◽

10.37103/kapp.19.2.4 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 71-93

Author(s):

Seung-Hoon Jeon ◽

Deokho Cho

Keyword(s):

Labor Supply ◽

The Elderly

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Does Social Support Affect the Health of the Elderly in Rural China? A Meta-Analysis Approach

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16183471 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (18) ◽

pp. 3471 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Natuya Zhuori ◽

Yu Cai ◽

Yan Yan ◽

Yu Cui ◽

Minjuan Zhao

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Rural China ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

The Elderly ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Meta Regression ◽

The Impact

As the trend of aging in rural China has intensified, research on the factors affecting the health of the elderly in rural areas has become a hot issue. However, the conclusions of existing studies are inconsistent and even contradictory, making it difficult to form constructive policies with practical value. To explore the reasons for the inconsistent conclusions drawn by relevant research, in this paper we constructed a meta-regression database based on 65 pieces of relevant literature published in the past 25 years. For more valid samples to reduce publication bias, we also set the statistical significance of social support to the health of the elderly in rural areas as a dependent variable. Finally, combined with multi-dimensional social support and its implications for the health of the elderly, meta-regression analysis was carried out on the results of 171 empirical studies. The results show that (1) subjective support rather than objective support can have a significant impact on the health of the elderly in rural areas, and there is no significant difference between other dimensions of social support and objective support; (2) the health status of the elderly in rural areas in samples involving western regions is more sensitive to social support than that in samples not involving the western regions; (3) among the elderly in rural areas, social support for the older male elderly is more likely to improve their health than that for the younger female elderly; and (4) besides this, both data sources and econometric models greatly affect the heterogeneity of the effect of social support on the health of the elderly in rural areas, but neither the published year nor the journal is significant. Finally, relevant policies and follow-up studies on the impact of social support on the health of the elderly in rural areas are discussed.

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Behavior Characteristics and Risk Factors for Suicide Among the Elderly in Rural China

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease ◽

10.1097/nmd.0000000000000728 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 206 (3) ◽

pp. 195-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Bao-Peng Liu ◽

Ping Qin ◽

Cun-Xian Jia

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Rural China ◽

The Elderly ◽

Behavior Characteristics ◽

Risk Factors For Suicide

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Does the New Rural Pension System Promote Farmland Transfer in the Context of Aging in Rural China: Evidence from the CHARLS

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16193592 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (19) ◽

pp. 3592

Author(s):

Yahui Wang ◽

Qingyuan Yang ◽

Liangjie Xin ◽

Jingyu Zhang

Keyword(s):

Pension System ◽

Rural China ◽

Supply And Demand ◽

Participation Rate ◽

The Elderly ◽

Rental Market ◽

Land Transfer ◽

Land Rental ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

The lack or instability of the pension system for the elderly in rural China has become a paramount obstacle for sustainable land transfer, namely land use right transfer among farmers, in the context of aging. The New Rural Pension System (NRPS), a pilot project that provided basic security for the elderly, was implemented in 10% of counties in 2009 and rapidly promoted nationwide in China. This study evaluates the impact of NRPS on farmland transfer by developing econometric models by employing the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2015. The participation rate in NRPS increased from 25.87% in 2011 to 80.85% in 2015, and the participation rate in farmland transfer rose from 11.56% to 24.04%. Everything else being held equal, the probability of farmers who transferred out their land increased by approximately 13% and the land area has been transferred increased by 11.2% due to participation in NRPS, indicating that the NRPS improved the operation efficiency of land rental market. Furthermore, the heterogeneity analysis showed that the probability and area mentioned above had a significant upward trend with the increase of the time and insured amount of participation in NRPS, which reduced dependence on farmland for the elderly and promoted the sustainability of land transfer. The government should further encourage farmers to increase the coverage and insured amount of pension system in the context of aging. Meanwhile, a platform to promote land transfer should be established to provide information about land supply and demand and reduce the transaction cost of land rental market.

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