Abstract
Few data are available from middle income countries regarding economic circumstances of households in which older people live. Many such settings have experienced rapid demographic, social and economic change, alongside increasing pension coverage. Population-based household surveys in rural and urban catchment areas in Peru, Mexico and China. Participating households were selected from all households with older residents. Descriptive analyses were weighted back for sampling fractions and non-response. Household income and consumption were estimated from a household key informant interview. 877 Household interviews (3177 residents). Response rate 68 %. Household income and consumption correlated plausibly with other economic wellbeing indicators. Household Incomes varied considerably within and between sites. While multigenerational households were the norm, older resident’s incomes accounted for a high proportion of household income, and older people were particularly likely to pool income. Differences in the coverage and value of pensions were a major source of variation in household income among sites. There was a small, consistent inverse association between household pension income and labour force participation of younger adult co-residents. The effect of pension income on older adults’ labour force participation was less clear-cut. Historical linkage of social protection to formal employment may have contributed to profound late-life socioeconomic inequalities. Strategies to formalise the informal economy, alongside increases in the coverage and value of non-contributory pensions and transfers would help to address this problem.
Highlights
Population ageing is advancing at an unprecedented pace, in rapidly developing middle income countries in Latin America and Asia (Kinsella and Phillips 2005; National Institute on Aging 2011)
In this study of older persons’ households in urban and rural catchment areas in Peru, Mexico and China, we identified high levels of household income inequality between and within sites
Other than rural China, older people made an important contribution to total household income, mainly from their pension income
Summary
Population ageing is advancing at an unprecedented pace, in rapidly developing middle income countries in Latin America and Asia (Kinsella and Phillips 2005; National Institute on Aging 2011). This transition poses challenges to governments and societies seeking to assure social protection while maintaining. Few detailed data are currently available regarding the economic circumstances of households in which older people live, in societies undergoing rapid demographic, social and economic change. Representative surveys are limited to varying degrees by the restricted coverage of income sources, and the extent to which the income of household members other than older people and their spouses are systematically ascertained (Angrisani and Lee 2011). Income has been more widely used to assess economic well-being and poverty rates, in part because the collection of comprehensive consumption data can take up a lot of survey time
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