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Economic Stress and Health Among Rural Chinese Elderly

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Economic Stress, Human Capital, and Families in Asia

Part of the book series: Quality of Life in Asia ((QLAS,volume 4))

Abstract

This chapter investigates the relationship between economic stress and health among the elderly in rural China. Both objective economic hardships and perceived economic strain are examined using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) conducted between 2000 and 2005. The data show that about 17 % of oldest-old in rural areas lived under economic stress in 2000. The risk factors that make an elderly vulnerable to economic stress include age, being male, being widowed or never married, being a minority member, having no education, having no living children, not having children as the main source of income, and having no pension. Economic stress is negatively associated with the quality of medical care and the mental well-being of an elderly which affect health and mortality hazard. Our results show that perceived economic strain increases the risk of mortality by 42 % even after controlling for basic demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and major health events. Having children as the main source of income and having access to pension alleviate the negative impact of economic hardship on mortality hazard by 23 and 66 %, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Wei-Jun Jean Yeung

  2. Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Zhenhua Xu

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  1. Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
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  2. Zhenhua Xu
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Correspondence to Wei-Jun Jean Yeung .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology & Asia Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Wei-Jun Jean Yeung

  2. Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Mui Teng Yap

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Yeung, WJ.J., Xu, Z. (2013). Economic Stress and Health Among Rural Chinese Elderly. In: Yeung, WJ., Yap, M. (eds) Economic Stress, Human Capital, and Families in Asia. Quality of Life in Asia, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7386-8_8

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