Old-age poverty in rural China in the new century

Abstract

Using data from the China Household Income Project in 2002, 2013 and 2018, we analyze changes in old-age poverty in rural China in the new century. We find that during the last two decades, absolute poverty among older adults decreased substantially from 33.86% in 2002 to 2.68% in 2018, however, the relative poverty rate experienced an increase during the same period, measured in terms of either income or consumption. We provide evidence that the rural elderly poor are strongly associated with health problems as well as a lower level of educational attainment. We further analyze the determinants of relative old-age poverty, and the results show that the New Rural Cooperative Medical System and remittances from migrant children play an important role. Although China has dealt with its absolute poverty very successfully, it presently needs to focus on its relative poverty, especially concerning rural older adults.