Will the Policy Instruments Mix Promote the Facility Input of Care Institutions for Older People in China?

Abstract

Promoting the facility input of care institutions for older people is the key to the development of the care for older people. With a steady increase in the proportion of older people in China, institutional care services are considered as an important tool for older people. Policies such as government bed subsidies and tax incentives are accelerating the development of institutional care services. However, when the care for older people related policy instrument mixes lacks overall comprehensiveness, consistency and balance, the policy instrument mixes may become a “policy mess”, in turn, affecting the development of care institutions for older people. Studies focusing on the combined effects of different characteristics of a policy instrument mix are scarce. To understand how to better use the policy mix to facilitate the care for older people, it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of care policies for older people and its role in the construction of care institutions for older people. Therefore, this study analyzes the impacts of comprehensiveness, consistency, and balance of policy instruments on the facility input of care institutions for older people. An empirical analysis of related policies from 2011 to 2019 in China shows that a synergetic effect exists between the policy instrument mix and the facility input of care institutions for older people. This study points that the comprehensiveness and consistency of the policy instrument mix positively affect the facility input of care institutions for older people, while the impact of balance is not significant. It not only provides feasible policy suggestions for China's policy-making departments to optimize the care for older people related policies, but also helps care institutions for older people further understand the characteristics of policy portfolios and realize sustainable development.

The impact of older adult care policy mixes on the construction of senior centers

“…2.1. Older adult care policy mix literature For China, in the context of the transition economy, the role of the government in promoting old-age security is extremely critical, and the old-age-related policies formulated by government agencies will affect the resource investment of social organizations in the old-age security industry, such as the establishment of more senior centers, the provision of more beds, and the establishment of more business organizations aimed at improving the quality of life of the older adult (2,13). Studies have pointed out that old-age policies will have an impact on the resource investment of the old-age security industry.…”

“…In recent years, China's aging rate has continued to rise. Compared with 2010, the aging rate has increased by 5.44 percentage points, and the phenomenon of social aging has become increasingly serious (1,2). How to promote the physical and mental health development of the older adult has become an extremely important research question, and received widespread attention (3,4).…”

“…How to promote the physical and mental health development of the older adult has become an extremely important research question, and received widespread attention (3,4). As an important aspect of the construction of older adult service facilities (2), the construction of senior centers can not only effectively meet the needs of the older adult for basic life, basic medical care, and basic security, but also provide cultural, friendship, entertainment, and leisure services. It is an important means of promoting the physical and mental health development of the older adult and ultimately the high-quality development of China's older adult care service system (5,6).…”

“…These resources are not sufficient to meet China's growing demand for older adult care services (10,11). Therefore, to accelerate the development of the physical and mental health of the older adult and the high-quality development of the older adult service system, the Chinese government has successively promulgated a series of relevant policies for the older adult, such as financial subsidies, tax exemptions, and standardized construction standards (2). These policies promote the construction of senior centers.…”

“…This paper explores the specific impact of the comprehensiveness, balance, and consistency of the older adult care policy mix on the construction of senior centers in various regions of China. Following prior research, we divided the older adult care policy mix instrument into the following three categories: supply-based, demand-based, and environmental-based older adult care service policy instruments (2,12). Then, we built statistical models to investigate the influence of policy mix characteristics on the construction of senior centers.…”