Demographic Transition, Family Change and Elderly Poverty in China, 2002 and 2005

Juhua Yang, Renmin University of China

This paper attempts to investigate the relationship between demographic transition, family change and poverty (defined as health status and loneliness) among the elderly age 65+ in transitional China. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, and comparing different groups of the elderly population (e.g., urban vs. rural, male vs. female, etc.) in poverty, it aims to shed light on a better understanding of the demographic determinants of the elderly poverty, while taking into account the important role of social welfare and a large set of socioeconomic and environmental factors in elderly life. Preliminary model results suggest that family structure remains to be important associates of the health and loneliness of the elderly. Further analysis is still on-going.