Economic situation of elderly

This study examines the relationships between poverty, defined as having income below the poverty line, perceived economic strain, and psychological distress among older Thai adults. Data were taken from the 2002 National Elderly Survey in Thailand. The sample included 21,417 older men and women aged ≥ 60 years. Multiple regression models were employed for data analysis and findings revealed that elderly poverty was significantly associated with perceived economic strain and psychological distress. After controlling for socio-demographic and health-related variables, perceived economic strain fully mediated the effect of poverty on psychological distress. Family support had a powerful buffering effect on the relationship between poverty and economic strain, as well as between poverty and psychological distress. Policy and strategies targeted at poverty and economic strain in late life, and filial support should be continuously promoted.

With the ageing of the population, countries face challenges, particularly with regard to long term care. Caring for disabled elderly entails both public and private costs that amount to billions of euro per year. But the value of informal care is often missing. The aim of the study is to assess the cost of informal care provided to people aged 75 years and over, applying the contingent valuation method. Data from a French survey on informal caregivers are used. A two-step model à la Heckman is implemented in order to both analyze factors associated with the reported amount of willingness to pay for an extra-hour of care, and reasons why some informal caregivers did not give a value (protest respondents). Results are enhanced with findings from a qualitative survey. Age, proximity, mental health seem convey the need for informal caregivers to be recognized, as well as their need for respite due to the burden they bear. Socioeconomic factors are also important: the higher informal caregiver’s and care recipient’s income is, the higher the reported amount is. These elements could be useful to public policies which try to develop measures that both promote and relieve informal care provided to the elderly.

Using 66th round of consumption expenditure data, National Sample Survey, 2009-10, this paper tests the hypothesis that the monthly per capita household health spending is significantly higher among elderly households compared to non-elderly households. The households are classified into three mutually exclusive groups; households with only elderly members (elderly households), households with elderly and non-elderly members and households without any elderly member. The health spending include the institutional (hospitalization) and non-institutional health expenditure of the household, standardized for 30 days. Descriptive statistics and two part model are used to understand the differentials of health expenditure across households. Results indicate that the monthly per capita health spending of elderly households is 3.8 times higher than non-elderly households. Health spending accounts 13 percentage of consumption expenditure of elderly households, 7% among households with elderly and non-elderly members and 5% among non-elderly households. Controlling for social, economic and demographic correlates, the per-capita household health spending among elderly households was significantly higher than non-elderly households. The health expenditure is catastrophic for poorer households, casual laborer and households with elderly m

Analyses of poverty are rarely disaggregated by age. This paper’s novelty lies in examining poverty rate among older persons, considering individual and household variables. It further examines variables associated with poverty, specifically framing the analyses within the context of economic disparity in the province. Three districts are selected and analyzed separately derived from the 2002 Indonesian National Socio-economic Survey. A formula is used to estimate the rate and severity of poverty. Logistic regression model is used. Our findings suggest that elderly poverty rate varies among the districts with the lowest (5%) occurring in the highly urbanized district of Surabaya, while the rate is much higher in others (22.2% in Pacitan, and 22.8% in Malang). Age, sex, marital status, education, living arrangement, and social participation are significant. Household variables (such as the size of household, asset ownership, and whether the household is the target of poverty alleviation policy) are also significant. In urban area, those living with children are more likely to be poorer than those without children. Yet, in less urbanized areas, those with children are less likely to be poorer than those without children.