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Village senior centres and the living arrangements of older people in rural China: considerations of health, land, migration and intergenerational support

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2016

HUIJUN LIU ,
KAREN N. EGGLESTON  and
YAN MIN
HUIJUN LIU
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. Center for Aging and Health Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China.
KAREN N. EGGLESTON*
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. Center for Aging and Health Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, California, USA.
YAN MIN
Affiliation:
Stanford Prevention and Research Center, Stanford University, California, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Karen N. Eggleston, Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, 616 Serra St., Encina Hall E311, Stanford, CA 94305-6055, USA E-mail: karene@stanford.edu
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Abstract

China is experiencing rapid urbanisation and population ageing, alongside sometimes contentious rural land consolidation. These on-going social, economic, political and demographic changes are especially problematic for older people in rural areas. In these regions, social and institutional support arrangements are less developed than in urban areas; older people have few options for re-settlement but are resistant to or incapable of adjusting to high-rise apartment living. In 2012–13, we gathered rich qualitative and quantitative data on over 600 older residents in 12 villages under the jurisdiction of City L in north-east coastal China to analyse residents’ living arrangement choices during the village renovation process. We compared villages with and without senior centres to shed light on the correlates of co-residence and independent living. Senior centres play a role in balancing the burden on rural Chinese families resulting from population ageing, smaller families, widespread migration for work, and the rapid urbanisation that is restructuring land rights and social support arrangements.

Keywords

Chinapopulation ageingvillage renovationliving arrangementshealthlong-term careintergenerational supportrural eldersurbanisationland politics
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 37 , Issue 10 , November 2017 , pp. 2044 - 2073
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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