中国城乡老年人的经济收入及代际经济支持

Economic Income and Intergenerational Economic Support of the Urban and Rural Elderly in China

根据2014年中国人民大学开展的"中国老年社会追踪调查"数据,文章对中国城乡老年人的收入水平和代际经济支持现状进行了分析,并通过多元线性回归模型探讨影响老年人收入的因素。研究发现城市老年人平均收入是农村老年人的4.5倍。老年人家庭中的经济资源以"向上"净转移为主体,但城市老年人的"向下"转移比例和程度较高。老年人收入水平不但与先赋条件有重要关系,其生命历程中累积起来的多个社会因素也对晚年的收入产生影响,某些先赋因素与社会累积因素所发挥的作用甚至方向对于城市和农村老年人而言却有很大差别。文章提出提高老年人的经济独立性而非提倡家庭加大对老年人的经济支持力度才是真正保障老年人在经济上老有所养的关键。

Based on data from 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey conducted by Renmin University of China, this paper analyzes the income levels and intergenerational economic support of the Chinese elderly. The study explores the influencing factors of the income of urban and rural elderly using multiple linear regression models. The results show that the average income of the urban elderly is 4.5 times that of the rural elderly. The ＂upward＂ transfer of economic resources is the main pattern among the families of Chinese elderly, while ＂downward＂ transfer is also distinct among the urban elderly in terms of the percentage and degree of the transfers to their children. Both the early endowed qualifications and multiple cumulative social factors in the elderly＇ s life courses are significantly related to the income level of the Chinese elderly. However, big differences are found among rural and urban elderly in terms of the effects or even the directions of the influencing factors. This paper proposes that the key of enhancing economic security in later life is to improve people＇ s economic independence instead of encouraging economic supports by family members for elderly.