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Cultural and Ethnic Differences in the Transitions from Work to 'Retirement' of Rural Elders in China’s Minority Regions

Author

Listed:
  • Connelly, Rachel

    (Bowdoin College)

  • Maurer-Fazio, Margaret

    (Bates College)

Abstract

This paper considers the work to "retirement" transitions of the rural elders in China who reside in seven regions with substantial minority populations. The data employed, those of the China Household Ethnicity Survey, are ideal for examining the effect of cultural differences on this key lifecycle event, the reduction of market-oriented work with age. Membership in particular ethnic minority groups is used to proxy the potential differences in the culture of aging and caregiving. We find that beyond education, the strongest predictors of labor force participation for China's rural elders are age, disability, widowhood, and ethnic minority status. The effects of ethnic minority group status on labor force participation are robust and the differences in participation among ethnic groups are sometimes large. It is thus misleading, in the analysis of the labor force participation of China's rural elders, to simply dichotomize ethnic minority and majority (Han) group membership. Further careful research is needed to help understand the differences in perceptions of aging among China's rural ethnic minority groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Connelly, Rachel & Maurer-Fazio, Margaret, 2015. "Cultural and Ethnic Differences in the Transitions from Work to 'Retirement' of Rural Elders in China’s Minority Regions," IZA Discussion Papers 9343, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9343
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China Household Ethnicity Survey; aging; elders; labor force participation; retirement; ethnicity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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