Productive engagement of older adults in China: A longitudinal multilevel analysis / Sia Bik Kai

Sia , Bik Kai (2021) Productive engagement of older adults in China: A longitudinal multilevel analysis / Sia Bik Kai. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

Population ageing poses significant challenges, but it also provides opportunities to harness the human capital of a large pool of experienced and skilled workers. In 2019, there were 164.4 million (11.5%) older persons aged 65 years and older in China, and undoubtedly the effective utilisation of this large pool of human resources is crucial for sustainable development. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of health, personal, behavioural, social, economic, physical environment, and demographic factors on the productive engagement of older adults, considering the provincial differences in economic conditions. This study used data from the 2002, 2005, 2008, and 2011 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). The respondents comprised 3,208 older adults aged 65 and over at wave 2002. The older adults were categorised as actively engaged in paid jobs, actively engaged in unpaid work, and less active. As they aged over nine years, the percentage engaged in a paid job declined from 45.5% to 25.1%, while those engaged in unpaid activities rose from 48.3% to 59.2%. The findings from employing a random intercept multilevel multinomial logit model developed from the mixed-effects models indicated a strong association between physical, cognitive, and functional health with paid and unpaid productive engagement. Also, older adults more likely to be involved in unpaid productive activities have the following characteristics: better self-rated health, greater cognitive health, better functionally independence, drinking and exercising habits, active participation in social activities, living alone, and female. Additionally, those who exercised regularly were more likely to participate more actively in paid and unpaid productive work. Participation in social activities was also positively associated with paid and unpaid productive engagement. Rural older adults not subject to the mandatory retirement age and those financially inadequate were more likely to continue working. However, having chronic diseases, advanced age, and low education did not deter older adults from participating in unpaid productive engagement. The likelihood of being productively engaged among the older adults was higher in the provinces with lower gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The person-mean centring models provided more insight than the grand-mean centring models, highlighting the importance of between- and within-person differences in explaining the variation in productive engagement. Health and exercising behaviour participation were particularly significant in explaining changes over time. The recommendations to promote active and productive ageing included enhancing the existing work system for older workers, raising the statutory retirement age, establishing social enterprises and entrepreneurship, accelerating the healthcare reform, promoting prevention-based healthy ageing, promoting regular exercise, and promoting social participation.

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