Family Structure and Quality of Life of Elderly in Rural China: The Role of the New Rural Social Pension

摘要

Using data from a survey in Ankang district of Shaanxi province of China in 2011, this paper examines the protective effect of the NRSP on quality of life of the rural elderly, as well the moderating effect on association between family structure and quality of life. An instrumental variable approach is used. NRSP is shown to significantly improve the quality of life of rural elderly, and a robustness check shows that this effect is consistent across different sets of subgroups. Compared with the elderly who have at least one son, the quality of life of those who are childless or have only one child is significantly lower. The NRSP is more likely to significantly improve the quality of life of the one-child elderly. In addition, the associations between the NRSP and the different facets of quality of life of the elderly are significant except for the facet of sensory abilities.