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Rural Old Age Support in Transitional China: Efforts Between Family and State

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Aging in China

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Aging ((Int. Perspect. Aging,volume 2))

Abstract

This chapter reviews the transformation of old age support in rural China and examines the potential for rural communities to generate and allocate resources for rural old age support in the context of rural development to meet the challenges of decreasing family resources and inadequate state provision. In-depth interviews with elderly people, their families, community leaders, and government officials of three villages, respectively, located in three provinces, provide us with clear insights into existing local institutional arrangements for rural old age support and the role of both government and communities in organizing such programs. They confirm that rural communities are able to generate and distribute resources for old age support, to offer community opportunities for social inclusion through fair flows of resources to promote social harmony and stability, and to accelerate economic growth. The findings of the study imply that there is a need for policymakers to link state efforts toward old age protection to rural community development, and to encourage grassroots efforts in old age support.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The average income of a rural resident in the year 2009 was ¥5,153. See National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China (2010).

  2. 2.

    A fuller description of the scheme can be found on the website of The Central Government of the People’s Republic of China (2009).

  3. 3.

    Associations for Old Persons in rural China are village-based nongovernment organizations ­aiming at mutual assistance and community welfare provision for the aged. A fuller description of AOP can be found in Gan (2008).

  4. 4.

    The shifts in the course of the Yellow River leave a strip of fertile soil along the banks.

  5. 5.

    A political movement in which the state provides funding to rural villages to build infrastructures for the communities. See Xinhua News Agency (2007).

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the funding of Social Protection in Asia (SPA) policy-research and network-building program which is funded by the Ford Foundation and IDRC and managed by the IHD New Delhi, India, and IDS Brighton, UK, for the study. Part of the content of this chapter was published in IDS Bulletin, July Issue 2010, under the title “Old Age Protection in the Context of Rural Development.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Xiaomei Pei & Youcai Tang

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  1. Xiaomei Pei
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  2. Youcai Tang
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Correspondence to Xiaomei Pei .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pace University, One Pace Plaza 18th Floor, New York, 10038, New York, USA

    Sheying Chen

  2. University of Lancashire, Livesey House LH 311, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE, United Kingdom

    Jason L. Powell

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Pei, X., Tang, Y. (2012). Rural Old Age Support in Transitional China: Efforts Between Family and State. In: Chen, S., Powell, J. (eds) Aging in China. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8351-0_5

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