IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joecag/v7y2016icp43-52.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Association between wealth and health among older adults in rural China and India

Author

Listed:
  • Kumar, Kaushalendra
  • Shukla, Ankita
  • Singh, Abhishek
  • Ram, Faujdar
  • Kowal, Paul

Abstract

Declining mortality and fertility has resulted in an increase in the size of older adult (60+) populations worldwide, often characterized by limited economic resources, poor health status and challenges with accessing health facilities, thereby increasing their vulnerability to various poor health outcomes. Using data from the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (WHO SAGE), economic differentials in health-related ailments were examined among rural dwelling older adults in China and India. Employing a disability framework, the associations between wealth status and four health outcomes, active disease, physical impairment, functional limitation and disability, were tested. Older adults from the three wealthiest quintiles (richest, richer and middle) were less likely to report the four health outcomes than the poorest one. Economic inequalities were largest for functional impairment and disability. Age advancement had a significant impact on each of the health outcomes. Equitable old age security schemes providing physical, social and economic support to this population, particularly to the economically disadvantageous groups in rural areas, are needed to ensure healthy aging in rural China and India.

Suggested Citation

  • Kumar, Kaushalendra & Shukla, Ankita & Singh, Abhishek & Ram, Faujdar & Kowal, Paul, 2016. "Association between wealth and health among older adults in rural China and India," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 43-52.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joecag:v:7:y:2016:i:c:p:43-52
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeoa.2016.02.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212828X16000037
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jeoa.2016.02.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Glass, R., 1999. "Social capital and self-rated health: A contextual analysis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(8), pages 1187-1193.
    2. Huisman, Martijn & Kunst, Anton E. & Mackenbach, Johan P., 2003. "Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity among the elderly; a European overview," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(5), pages 861-873, September.
    3. Abhijit Banerjee & Angus Deaton & Esther Duflo, 2004. "Wealth, Health, and Health Services in Rural Rajasthan," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 326-330, May.
    4. Lei, Xiaoyan & Sun, Xiaoting & Strauss, John & Zhao, Yaohui & Yang, Gonghuan & Hu, Perry & Hu, Yisong & Yin, Xiangjun, 2014. "Reprint of: Health outcomes and socio-economic status among the mid-aged and elderly in China: Evidence from the CHARLS national baseline data," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 59-73.
    5. Knesebeck, Olaf von dem & Lüschen, Günther & Cockerham, William C. & Siegrist, Johannes, 2003. "Socioeconomic status and health among the aged in the United States and Germany: A comparative cross-sectional study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(9), pages 1643-1652, November.
    6. Vincent Hildebrand & Philippe Kerm, 2009. "Income inequality and self-rated health status: Evidence from the european community household panel," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(4), pages 805-825, November.
    7. Zimmer, Zachary, 2008. "Poverty, wealth inequality and health among older adults in rural Cambodia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 57-71, January.
    8. Kaushalendra Kumar & Ashish Singh & Santosh Kumar & Faujdar Ram & Abhishek Singh & Usha Ram & Joel Negin & Paul R Kowal, 2015. "Socio-Economic Differentials in Impoverishment Effects of Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure in China and India: Evidence from WHO SAGE," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, August.
    9. Nazmul Chaudhury & Jeffrey Hammer & Michael Kremer & Karthik Muralidharan & F. Halsey Rogers, 2006. "Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 91-116, Winter.
    10. Lei, Xiaoyan & Sun, Xiaoting & Strauss, John & Zhao, Yaohui & Yang, Gonghuan & Hu, Perry & Hu, Yisong & Yin, Xiangjun, 2014. "Health outcomes and socio-economic status among the mid-aged and elderly in China: Evidence from the CHARLS national baseline data," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 3(C), pages 29-43.
    11. Weir, David & Lay, Margaret & Langa, Kenneth, 2014. "Economic development and gender inequality in cognition: A comparison of China and India, and of SAGE and the HRS sister studies," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 114-125.
    12. Roberta Torre & Mikko Myrskylä, 2014. "Income inequality and population health: An analysis of panel data for 21 developed countries, 1975-2006," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(1), pages 1-13, March.
    13. Abhijit Banerjee & Angus Deaton & Esther Duflo, 2004. "Health care delivery in rural rajasthan," Framed Field Experiments 00120, The Field Experiments Website.
    14. Deon Filmer & Lant Pritchett, 2001. "Estimating Wealth Effects Without Expenditure Data—Or Tears: An Application To Educational Enrollments In States Of India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 115-132, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liping Fu & Yuhui Wang & Lanping He, 2020. "Factors Associated with the Psychological Health of Caregiving Older Parents and Support from Their Grown Children: Results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-11, January.
    2. Qingyuan Xue & Nopphol Witvorapong, 2022. "Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Aging People’s Health in China," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 476-488, September.
    3. Y Selvamani & Pushpendra Singh, 2018. "Socioeconomic patterns of underweight and its association with self-rated health, cognition and quality of life among older adults in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Windi Wijayanti & Devanto Shasta Pratomo & Mohamad Khusaini, 2018. "The Effects of Socio-Economic Factors on Health of Elderly in East Java," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business (continues Analele Stiintifice), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 65(2), pages 205-213, June.
    5. Rui Zhang & Chenglei Zhang & Jiahui Xia & Dawei Feng & Shaoyong Wu, 2022. "Household Wealth and Individuals’ Mental Health: Evidence from the 2012–2018 China Family Panel Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zimmer, Zachary, 2008. "Poverty, wealth inequality and health among older adults in rural Cambodia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 57-71, January.
    2. Bakshi, Sanjeev & Pathak, Prasanta, 2010. "Social context and the burden of ill health among the older adults in India," MPRA Paper 40463, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Md Ismail Tareque & Sharifa Begum & Yasuhiko Saito, 2014. "Inequality in Disability in Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-10, July.
    4. Ding, Hui & Chen, Yiwei & Yu, Min & Zhong, Jieming & Hu, Ruying & Chen, Xiangyu & Wang, Chunmei & Xie, Kaixu & Eggleston, Karen, 2021. "The Effects of Chronic Disease Management in Primary Health Care: Evidence from Rural China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Barik, Debasis & Desai, Sonalde & Vanneman, Reeve, 2018. "Economic Status and Adult Mortality in India: Is the Relationship Sensitive to Choice of Indicators?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 176-187.
    6. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2009. "Health and Well-Being in Udaipur and South Africa," NBER Chapters, in: Developments in the Economics of Aging, pages 317-349, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Edward N. Okeke & Amalavoyal V. Chari, 2015. "Can Institutional Deliveries Reduce Newborn Mortality? Evidence from Rwanda," Working Papers WR-1072, RAND Corporation.
    8. Mitra, Sophie & Gao, Qin & Chen, Wei & Zhang, Yalu, 2020. "Health, work, and income among middle-aged and older adults: A panel analysis for China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    9. Yunyun Jiang & Haitao Zheng & Tianhao Zhao, 2019. "Socioeconomic Status and Morbidity Rate Inequality in China: Based on NHSS and CHARLS Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-19, January.
    10. Bonfrer, Igna & Van de Poel, Ellen & Van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2014. "The effects of performance incentives on the utilization and quality of maternal and child care in Burundi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 96-104.
    11. Grace Lordan & Eliana Jimenez Soto & Richard P. C. Brown & Ignacio Correa‐Valez, 2012. "Socioeconomic status and health outcomes in a developing country," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(2), pages 178-186, February.
    12. Grant Miller & Kimberly Singer Babiarz, 2013. "Pay-for-Performance Incentives in Low- and Middle-Income Country Health Programs," NBER Working Papers 18932, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Matthew McCartney & Indrajit Roy, 2016. "A Consensus Unravels: NREGA and the Paradox of Rules-Based Welfare in India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 28(4), pages 588-604, September.
    14. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2005. "Health and Wealth among the Poor: India and South Africa Compared," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 229-233, May.
    15. Han Hu & Yafei Si & Bingqin Li, 2020. "Decomposing Inequality in Long-Term Care Need Among Older Adults with Chronic Diseases in China: A Life Course Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-14, April.
    16. Zhifei He & Zhaohui Cheng & Ghose Bishwajit & Dongsheng Zou, 2018. "Wealth Inequality as a Predictor of Subjective Health, Happiness and Life Satisfaction among Nepalese Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-11, December.
    17. Abhijit Banerjee & Rema Hanna, 2012. "Corruption [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
      • Banerjee, Abhijit & Hanna, Rema & Mullainathan, Sendhil, 2012. "Corruption," Working Paper Series rwp12-023, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
      • Hanna, Rema N. & Mullainathan, Sendhil & Banerjee, Abhijit, 2012. "Corruption," Scholarly Articles 8830779, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
      • Abhijit Banerjee & Rema Hanna & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2012. "Corruption," Working Papers id:4952, eSocialSciences.
      • Abhijit Banerjee & Sendhil Mullainathan & Rema Hanna, 2012. "Corruption," NBER Working Papers 17968, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. David Cutler & Angus Deaton & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2006. "The Determinants of Mortality," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(3), pages 97-120, Summer.
    19. Jinkook Lee & Jenny Wilkens & Erik Meijer & T V Sekher & David E Bloom & Peifeng Hu, 2022. "Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control and their association with healthcare access in the middle-aged and older Indian population: A nationwide cohort study," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(1), pages 1-20, January.
    20. Aggarwal, Shilpa, 2021. "The long road to health: Healthcare utilization impacts of a road pavement policy in rural India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joecag:v:7:y:2016:i:c:p:43-52. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-journal-of-the-economics-of-ageing .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.