IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ran/wpaper/wr-866.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Living Arrangements of the Elderly in China Evidence from CHARLS

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoyan Lei
  • John Strauss
  • Meng Tian
  • Yaohui Zhao

Abstract

Recent increases in Chinese elderly living alone or only with a spouse has raised concerns about elderly support, especially when public support is inadequate. However, using rich information from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this paper finds that the increasing trend in living alone is accompanied with a rise in living close to each other. This type of living arrangement solves the conflicts between privacy/independence and family support. This is confirmed in further investigation: children living close by visit their parents more frequently. It also finds that children who live far away provide a larger amount of net transfers to their parents, a result consistent with responsibility sharing among siblings. Having more children is associated with living with a child or having a child nearby, while investing more in a child's schooling is associated with greater net transfers to parents.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoyan Lei & John Strauss & Meng Tian & Yaohui Zhao, 2011. "Living Arrangements of the Elderly in China Evidence from CHARLS," Working Papers WR-866, RAND Corporation.
    • Handle: RePEc:ran:wpaper:wr-866
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2011/RAND_WR866.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gustafsson,Björn A. & Shi,Li & Sicular,Terry (ed.), 2008. "Inequality and Public Policy in China," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521870450, October.
    2. Lisa Cameron, 2000. "The residency decision of elderly indonesians: A nested logit analysis," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(1), pages 17-27, February.
    3. Eric V. Edmonds & Kristin Mammen & Douglas L. Miller, 2005. "Rearranging the Family?: Income Support and Elderly Living Arrangements in a Low-Income Country," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    4. Fuqin Bian & John Logan & Yanjie Bian, 1998. "Intergenerational relations in urban China: Proximity, contact, and help to parents," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(1), pages 115-124, February.
    5. Zachary Zimmer & Julia Kwong, 2003. "Family size and support of older adults in urban and rural China: Current effects and future implications," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(1), pages 23-44, February.
    6. Gary V. Engelhardt & Jonathan Gruber, 2004. "Social Security and the Evolution of Elderly Poverty," NBER Working Papers 10466, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Peter Saunders & Timothy Smeeding, 1998. "How Do the Elderly in Taiwan Fare Cross-Nationally? Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Project," LIS Working papers 183, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    8. Kathleen Mcgarry & Robert Schoeni, 2000. "Social security, economic growth, and the rise in elderly widows’ independence in the twentieth century," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(2), pages 221-236, May.
    9. Linda Martin, 1989. "Living Arrangements of the Elderly in Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 26(4), pages 627-643, November.
    10. Giles, John T. & Mu, Ren, 2006. "Elder Parent Health and the Migration Decision of Adult Children: Evidence from Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 2333, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. John Giles & Ren Mu, 2007. "Elderly parent health and the migration decisions of adult children: Evidence from rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(2), pages 265-288, May.
    12. Laurence J. Kotlikoff & John N. Morris, 1990. "Why Don't the Elderly Live with Their Children? A New Look," NBER Chapters, in: Issues in the Economics of Aging, pages 149-172, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Jan Mutchier & Jeffrey Burr, 1991. "A longitudinal analysis of household and nonhousehold living arrangements in later life," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 28(3), pages 375-390, August.
    14. Dora L. Costa, 1998. "Displacing the Family," NBER Chapters, in: The Evolution of Retirement: An American Economic History, 1880-1990, pages 106-132, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lei, Xiaoyan & Giles, John & Hu, Yuqing & Park, Albert & Strauss, John & Zhao, Yaohui, 2012. "Patterns and correlates of intergenerational non-time transfers : evidence from CHARLS," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6076, The World Bank.
    2. Bradley, Elizabeth & Chen, Xi & Tang, Gaojie, 2020. "Social security expansion and neighborhood cohesion: Evidence from community-living older adults in China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    3. David E. Bloom & Dara Lee Luca, 2016. "The Global Demography of Aging: Facts, Explanations, Future," PGDA Working Papers 13016, Program on the Global Demography of Aging.
    4. Ren Mu & Yang Du, 2017. "Pension Coverage for Parents and Educational Investment in Children: Evidence from Urban China," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(2), pages 483-503.
    5. Lingguo Cheng & Hong Liu & Ye Zhang & Zhong Zhao, 2018. "The heterogeneous impact of pension income on elderly living arrangements: evidence from China’s new rural pension scheme," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(1), pages 155-192, January.
    6. Cheng, Lingguo & Liu, Hong & Zhang, Ye & Zhao, Zhong, 2018. "The health implications of social pensions: Evidence from China's new rural pension scheme," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 53-77.
    7. Connelly, Rachel & Maurer-Fazio, Margaret, 2016. "Left behind, at-risk, and vulnerable elders in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 140-153.
    8. Wang, Le, 2013. "Estimating returns to education when the IV sample is selective," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 74-85.
    9. Bloom, D.E. & Luca, D.L., 2016. "The Global Demography of Aging," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 3-56, Elsevier.
    10. Shing-Yi Wang, 2019. "The Labor Supply Consequences of Having a Boy in China," NBER Working Papers 26185, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Hui Li & Chengyun Duan & Miao David Chunyu, 2021. "A Study of the Factors Influencing the Residential Preferences of the Elderly in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    12. Connelly, Rachel & Iannotti, Michael & Maurer-Fazio, Margaret & Zhang, Dandan, 2014. "Coresidency, Ethnicity, and Happiness of China's Rural Elders," IZA Discussion Papers 8194, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Sen Ma & Fangqi Wen, 2016. "Who Coresides With Parents? An Analysis Based on Sibling Comparative Advantage," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(3), pages 623-647, June.
    14. Yang, Juan & SICULAR, Terry & LAI, Desheng, 2014. "The changing determinants of high school attainment in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 551-566.
    15. Connelly, Rachel & Maurer-Fazio, Margaret, 2015. "Left Behind, At Risk, and Vulnerable Elders in Rural China: What the RUMIC Data Reveal about the Extent, Causes, and Consequences of Being Left Behind," IZA Discussion Papers 9213, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Qi Xu & Jinshui Wang & Jingjing Qi, 2019. "Intergenerational coresidence and subjective well-being of older adults in China: The moderating effect of living arrangement preference and intergenerational contacts," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(48), pages 1347-1372.
    17. Yiqing Gan & Eric Fong, 2020. "Living separately but living close: Coresidence of adult children and parents in urban China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(12), pages 315-328.
    18. Yuhui Ruan & Demi Zhu, 2021. "Association of Chinese drifting elderly's intergenerational support satisfaction with expectation: A mixed method study in Shanghai," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 173-188, January.
    19. Yi Chen & Hanming Fang, 2018. "The Long-Term Consequences of Having Fewer Children in Old Age: Evidence from China’s “Later, Longer, Fewer” Campaign," NBER Working Papers 25041, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Shanwen Zhu & Man Li & Renyao Zhong & Peter C. Coyte, 2019. "The Effects of Co-Residence on the Subjective Well-Being of Older Chinese Parents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    21. Wu, Qi & Gao, Xin, 2020. "The Effects of Parental Retirement on Adult Children’s Labor Supply: Evidence From China," MPRA Paper 103914, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Ke Shen & Feinian Chen & Hangqing Ruan, 2021. "The mixed blessing of living together or close by: Parent–child relationship quality and life satisfaction of older adults in China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(24), pages 563-594.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lingguo Cheng & Hong Liu & Ye Zhang & Zhong Zhao, 2018. "The heterogeneous impact of pension income on elderly living arrangements: evidence from China’s new rural pension scheme," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(1), pages 155-192, January.
    2. Hsin-Ling Hsieh & Shin-Yi Chou & Echu Liu & Hsien-Ming Lien, 2015. "Strengthening or Weakening? The Impact of Universal Health Insurance on Intergenerational Coresidence in Taiwan," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 883-904, June.
    3. Zachary Zimmer & Codrina Rada & Catalin Stoica, 2013. "Migration, Location and Provision of Support to Old-Age Parents: The Case of Romania," Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, University of Utah 2013_09, University of Utah, Department of Economics.
    4. Akshaya Kumar Panigrahi, 2009. "Determinants of Living Arrangements of Elderly in Orissa: An Analysis," Working Papers 228, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
    5. Emma Aguila & Jung Ho Park & Alma Vega, 2020. "Living Arrangements and Supplemental Income Programs for Older Adults in Mexico," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1345-1368, August.
    6. Eric V. Edmonds & Kristin Mammen & Douglas L. Miller, 2005. "Rearranging the Family?: Income Support and Elderly Living Arrangements in a Low-Income Country," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    7. Dora L. Costa, 2008. "The Rise of Retirement Among African Americans: Wealth and Social Security Effects," NBER Working Papers 14462, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Fengyu Wu, 2022. "Intergenerational Support and Life Satisfaction of Older Parents in China: A Rural–Urban Divide," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 1071-1098, April.
    9. Yatish Kumar & Priya Bhakat, 2022. "Social Capital in Old-Age and the Role of the Social Marginalisation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 371-388, August.
    10. Feng, Lyubing & He, Yuxi & Zhan, Peng, 2023. "Economic independence and living arrangements of older women with agricultural Hukou in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Giles, John T. & Mu, Ren, 2006. "Elder Parent Health and the Migration Decision of Adult Children: Evidence from Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 2333, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Zhaohua Zhang & Yuxi Luo & Derrick Robinson, 2018. "Reducing Food Poverty and Vulnerability among the Rural Elderly with Chronic Diseases: The Role of the New Rural Pension Scheme in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-20, June.
    13. Pensieroso, Luca & Sommacal, Alessandro, 2014. "Economic development and family structure: From pater familias to the nuclear family," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 80-100.
    14. Fan, Ying & Fang, Shuai & Yang, Zan, 2018. "Living arrangements of the elderly: A new perspective from choice constraints in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 101-116.
    15. Pushkar Maitra & Ranjan Ray, 2003. "Resource inflows and household composition: evidence from South African panel data," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(8), pages 1037-1047.
    16. Margaret Maurer-Fazio & Rachel Connelly & Lan Chen & Lixin Tang, 2011. "Childcare, Eldercare, and Labor Force Participation of Married Women in Urban China, 1982–2000," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(2), pages 261-294.
    17. Deborah Cobb-Clark & Lisa A Cameron, 2005. "Do Coresidency with and Financial Transfers from Children Reduce the Need for Elderly Parents to Work in Developing Countries?," CEPR Discussion Papers 508, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    18. Qian Song & Luoman Bao & Jeffery A. Burr, 2023. "The Structure and Transition of “Extended Living Arrangements” in Later Life: Evidence from Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 365-395, September.
    19. Jianmei ZHAO & Hai ZHONG, 2019. "A Demographic Factor as a Determinant of Migration: What Is the Effect of Sibship Size on Migration Decision?," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 85(4), pages 321-345, December.
    20. Cameron, L. & Cobb-Clark, D., 2001. "Old-Age Support in Developing Countries: Labor Supply, Ingenerational Transfers and Living Arrangements," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 773, The University of Melbourne.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    living arrangement; coresidence; proximity of children; CHARLS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ran:wpaper:wr-866. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Benson Wong (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lpranus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.