Ethnic Inequalities in Old Age: Some Comparisons Between Britain and the United States

Abstract

Issues of ethnicity and aging are much discussed in the U.S.A., but have only recently begun to emerge in Britain. This paper sets out to review some of the main findings of the British research on the elderly of Asian and West Indian ethnic minorities and to compare these with American evidence on the position of the minority aged. Some of the difficulties in making valid comparisons are noted, particularly in view of the heterogeneity of ethnic groups, differences in migration patterns, social and welfare contexts and the paucity of evidence on ethnic minority aging in Britain. However, preliminary findings on income, health, satisfaction and social interaction do offer a basis for general, if not detailed, comparisons. Each of these aspects of social inequality is examined, using survey data from a study of minority ethnic groups in Birmingham, England. Inequalities in income and health are found to be marked, when old Asians and West Indians are compared with old white counterparts in the inner city; evidence on life satisfaction and social interaction is mixed, and the implications of these findings for the double jeopardy hypothesis are discussed.