Abstract
AbstractA continuous rise of female life expectancy above that of males among older adults in India and China may give the impression that the relative gender gap in health in these countries is decreasing. However, given the systemic gender bias against older females in these countries across multiple dimensions of health, a fuller understanding of the gender gap in health calls for a multi-dimensional perspective. We estimate a multi-dimensional old-age threshold (MOAT) that specifies different old-age thresholds for female and male populations which accommodates multiple dimensions related to physical, intellectual and general health. We use the MOAT to evaluate the multi-dimensional gender gap in India and China by differencing the MOAT for females with that of males. Females in both countries have a lower MOAT than their male counterparts, indicating an earlier advent of ‘old age’ for females. The multi-dimensional estimates of the gender gap are also higher than the estimates based on only one dimension of health. A considerable level of variation is also observed in the gender gap across provinces. The study illustrates the need to understand the gender gap in health in India and China from a multi-dimensional perspective and provides an innovative way to quantify such a gap. Province-specific as well as health dimension-specific interventions are vital in reducing the gender gap among older adults in these countries.
Highlights
While female life expectancy is higher than that of their male counterparts in the developed countries, this was not the case in developing countries such as India and China during most of the last century
We computed the age-specific values of self-rated health, cognition and percentage of population with abilities to perform activities of daily living (ADL) for the four populations: (a) male population in India, (b) female population in India, (c) male population in China, and (d) female population in China
The paper illustrates the existence of the multi-dimensional nature of the gender gap in health both in India and China and that this is higher in India than in China
Summary
While female life expectancy is higher than that of their male counterparts in the developed countries, this was not the case in developing countries such as India and China during most of the last century. Ageing & Society 1001 female mortality, resulted in lower levels of female life expectancy (Das Gupta and Mari Bhat, 1997; Meara et al, 2008). India and China saw a rapid increase in female life expectancies and a widening of gender differences in life expectancies at higher ages in favour of females. The difference between female and male life expectancies at age 60 in India was only 0.7 years in 1950–1955. This difference had increased to 1.5 years by 2010–2015. Life expectancy at age 60 was higher by 1.8 years for Chinese females in 1950–1955 and this difference increased to 2.3 in 2010–2015 (United Nations, 2015)
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