Does Health Affects Older Persons’ Labour Force Participation in India?

The paper tries to understand the dynamics of health of the elderly and their labour force participation in India. The data from the National Sample Survey, 60th round is used. The health of the elderly is assessed through the information on disease pattern, disability and information of treatment seeking behavior and hospitalization. Bi-variate and multi-variate analysis are employed to understand the nexus between health status and work force participation of elderly in India. A regional level analysis will also be carried out to the phenomenon in detail. The study shows that nearly one-third of elderly is in labour force (LF), LF participation is higher among the rural, male and STs. Economic status is inversely related to the LF participation. A higher LF participation is seen in the North-Eastern region followed by central region. The health status of elderly shows a higher prevalence of morbidity, poor perception of their own health and a higher disability among them. Elderly who did not report illness during the last 15 days reported higher LF participation, similarly those who had a better self perceived health were higher in the LF and disability was also found to be a major constraint in participating in the LF.