The Impact of Labor Force Participation on Elderly Health in China

Abstract

In the context of the deepening of population aging and the trial implementation of a progressive retirement delay policy in China, understanding the relationship between the labor force participation and health status of the elderly will not only enrich relevant research but also help the elderly better achieve their goals of active aging and aging. Using the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this paper first established multiple linear regression models to analyze the impact of labor force participation on the health status of elderly people in China and then established simultaneous equation models using households living on minimum living allowances and the community average of labor participation as instrumental variables to deal with the endogeneity caused by two-way causality. The findings confirmed significant positive correlations between labor force participation and physical and mental health, while caring for grandchildren and participating in social activities were found to be negatively moderated the relationship between labor force participation and the physical and mental health of older adults. The impact of labor force participation on the physical health status of older men and the mental health status of older women may be greater. In addition, labor force participation may have a greater impact on the physical health of the rural elderly, and its impact on mental health was not found to be statistically significant between urban and rural areas.

Does work after retirement affect health‐related quality of life: Evidence from a propensity score matching study in China

“…Previous research concluded different findings, where some studies found a significant protective effect of labor participation in later life against declining functional limitations in men, but less or not at all in women, 18,21 and other studies found that the negative effects of re-employment after retirement on mental health were greater in women than in men or there was no effect on men. 20,21 Plausible explanations for the reported sex differences might be related to the differences in gendered socialization and gender variations in social roles or family responsibilities. 20,55,56 The present study has important implications for social policy evaluation and public health practice.…”

“…With regard to sex subgroups, the present results showed significant impact of post‐retirement work on HRQOL among men, and only marginal significant impact among women, suggesting no sex specificity. Previous research concluded different findings, where some studies found a significant protective effect of labor participation in later life against declining functional limitations in men, but less or not at all in women, 18,21 and other studies found that the negative effects of re‐employment after retirement on mental health were greater in women than in men or there was no effect on men 20,21 . Plausible explanations for the reported sex differences might be related to the differences in gendered socialization and gender variations in social roles or family responsibilities 20,55,56 …”

“…35 Several other studies, although not focusing on HRQOL, have similarly revealed the beneficial effects of post-retirement work in promoting single health indicators. 16,18,19,21,22,25 There were also some studies concluding contradictory findings that post-retirement work was negatively or not significantly associated with physical and mental health, 14,17,20,48 and that the effect of extended work on subjective QOL could differ for different regions. 27 Discrepancies in findings might be related to diversity in studied populations and variations in study design or analysis method.…”

“…For instance, a study from Norway found that post‐retirement work had a contributory effect on better HRQOL in individuals with a specific disease (rheumatoid arthritis) 35 . Several other studies, although not focusing on HRQOL, have similarly revealed the beneficial effects of post‐retirement work in promoting single health indicators 16,18,19,21,22,25 . There were also some studies concluding contradictory findings that post‐retirement work was negatively or not significantly associated with physical and mental health, 14,17,20,48 and that the effect of extended work on subjective QOL could differ for different regions 27 .…”

“…14 The majority of existing evidence on health consequences associated with extended working life came from developed countries, [14][15][16][17][18][19] whereas few studies were carried out in China. 20,21 The current literature is also limited in that it is mostly focused on single health outcomes, such as depression, 19,20,22 cognition, [23][24][25] self-rated health, 19 functional limitations, 19,25 life satisfaction, 26 well-being 27 and mortality, 17,28 but failed to explicitly investigate its impact on comprehensive health assessment indicators such as health-related quality of life (HRQOL).…”