Internal tension or external pressure? Study on the influencing factors of the diffusion of education policies for older adults in China – Based on the analysis of China’s provincial panel data from 2016 to 2023

Abstract

ABSTRACT The development of education for older adults through policy measures has become an important means for governments to actively cope with population aging. Taking the number of education policies for older adults adopted in 31 provinces of China from 2016 to 2023 as an example, this study empirically analyzes the factors influencing the diffusion of education policies from dimensions of internal tension and external pressure. The results showed that the level of economic development, natural population growth rate, older adults dependency ratio, child dependency ratio, illiterate population over 15 years old, number of local libraries inside the province and the adoption of education policies for older adults in adjacent provinces significantly affected the adoption of education policies for older adults in each province. After the introduction of regional variables, it is found that there are significant differences in the adoption of education policies for older adults by provincial governments in different regions of China. The policy responsiveness of eastern provinces is the best, followed by the central, and the western is the worst. The above results indicate that provincial governments in China are not only affected by the supply level of education services for older adults and their service demand within the province, but also affected by the adoption behavior of other provinces when making decisions, which is the result of rational thinking and competitive pressure. The above results provide China’s experience for the diffusion and implementation of education policies for older adults in a wider range.