IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v34y2002i9p1617-1633.html

Regional Variation in Family Support for the Elderly in China: A Geodevelopmental Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Ge Lin

    (Department of Geology and Geography, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6825, USA)

Abstract

The author examines the impact of rapid social change and economic development on family support for older parents in contemporary urban China. Based on the 1992 Survey on China's Support Systems for the Elderly, the author uses three levels of economic development as proxies for developmental stages in a study carried out from a geodevelopmental perspective. It is found that intergenerational support in urban China is persistent as far as instrumental support is concerned, and that the level of support follows a U-shaped pattern along the axis of economic development. It is in the mid-developed urban areas that intergenerational support seems the weakest. If the pattern from the less-developed to the developed urban areas reflects a time path, then the suggested trajectory will not lead to a convergence with the old-age support system found in the West. The author concludes that, although some aspects of economic support for the elderly will likely be consistent with modernization theory, the old-age support system in China is, on the whole, likely to diverge from the path seen in the West.

Suggested Citation

  • Ge Lin, 2002. "Regional Variation in Family Support for the Elderly in China: A Geodevelopmental Perspective," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(9), pages 1617-1633, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:34:y:2002:i:9:p:1617-1633
    DOI: 10.1068/a3523
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a3523
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a3523?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. Fuqin Bian & John Logan & Yanjie Bian, 1998. "Intergenerational relations in urban China: Proximity, contact, and help to parents," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(1), pages 115-124, February.
    2. Julie DaVanzo & Angelique Chan, 1994. "Living arrangements of older malaysians: Who coresides with their adult children?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 31(1), pages 95-113, 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. Ángela Hernández Córdoba, 2016. "Cuadernos del CIDS. Envejecimiento y longevidad: fatalidad y devenir: teorías, datos y vivencias," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, number 98.
    2. Maria Manuela Nêveda Da Costa & Jianjun Ji, 2004. "Rural-Urban Economic Disparities among China’s Elderly," ERSA conference papers ersa04p444, European Regional Science Association.

    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. Zachary Zimmer & Codrina Rada & Catalin Stoica, 2013. "Migration, Location and Provision of Support to Old-Age Parents: The Case of Romania," Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, University of Utah 2013_09, University of Utah, Department of Economics.
    2. Giles, John T. & Mu, Ren, 2006. "Elder Parent Health and the Migration Decision of Adult Children: Evidence from Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 2333, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Sibai, Abla M. & Yount, Kathryn M. & Fletcher, Astrid, 2007. "Marital status, intergenerational co-residence and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older men and women during wartime in Beirut: Gains and liabilities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 64-76, January.
    4. Shobhit Srivastava & T. Muhammad & Priya Saravanakumar, 2023. "Factors associated with discordance of actual and preferred living arrangements among older adults: an analytical cross-sectional study in India," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Lusi Liao & Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat, 2022. "Alternative boomerang kids, intergenerational co-residence, and maternal labor supply," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 609-634, June.
    6. Jane K L Teh & Nai Peng Tey & Sor Tho Ng, 2014. "Ethnic and Gender Differentials in Non-Communicable Diseases and Self-Rated Health in Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-8, March.
    7. Miguel, Edward A. & Gertler, Paul & Levine, David I., 2003. "Did Industrialization Destroy Social Capital in Indonesia?," Center for International and Development Economics Research, Working Paper Series qt9kt2m860, Center for International and Development Economics Research, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    8. Fan, Ying & Fang, Shuai & Yang, Zan, 2018. "Living arrangements of the elderly: A new perspective from choice constraints in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 101-116.
    9. Francesca Michielin & Clara Mulder, 2007. "Geographical distances between adult children and their parents in the Netherlands," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 17(22), pages 655-678.
    10. Jessica Pearlman & Lisa D. Pearce & Dirgha J. Ghimire & Prem Bhandari & Taylor Hargrove, 2017. "Postmarital Living Arrangements in Historically Patrilocal Settings: Integrating Household Fission and Migration Perspectives," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(4), pages 1425-1449, August.
    11. Steven Stern, 2014. "O Brother, Where Art Thou? We Need Your Help," Department of Economics Working Papers 14-08, Stony Brook University, Department of Economics.
    12. Lei, Xiaoyan & Strauss, John & Tian, Meng & Zhao, Yaohui, 2011. "Living Arrangements of the Elderly in China: Evidence from CHARLS," IZA Discussion Papers 6249, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Qi Xu & Jingjing Qi & Jinshui Wang, 2019. "Intergenerational coresidence and subjective well-being of older adults in China: The moderating effect of living arrangement preference and intergenerational contacts," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(48), pages 1347-1372.
    14. Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Bansak, Cynthia, 2022. "Are Grandparents a Good Substitute for Parents as the Primary Caregiver? The Impact of Grandparents on Children's Academic Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1100, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Zhen Zeng & Yu Xie, 2014. "The Effects of Grandparents on Children’s Schooling: Evidence From Rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 599-617, April.
    16. Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Bansak, Cynthia, 2024. "Are grandparents a good substitute for parents as the primary caregiver? The impact of grandparents on Children's academic performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    17. Yi Zeng & Linda George & Melanie Sereny & Danan Gu & James W. Vaupel, 2015. "Older parents enjoy better filial piety and care from daughters than sons in China," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2015-012, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    18. Mohamed Abdel-Ghany, 2008. "Problematic Progress in Asia: Growing Older and Apart," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 549-569, December.
    19. John Giles & Ren Mu, 2007. "Elderly parent health and the migration decisions of adult children: Evidence from rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(2), pages 265-288, May.
    20. Roberta Zavoretti, 2006. "Family-based care for China’s ageing population," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 211-228, June.

    More about this item

    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:sae:envira:v:34:y:2002:i:9:p:1617-1633. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.