Population Research

Enjoy Old Age: Smart Elderly Health Care and Enjoyment-oriented Consumption of the Older Adults

Yuan Xin, Tu Kunpeng, Jin Niu, Wang Lijing

2025, 49(5): 3-18.

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The population ageing has pushed the older adults from the edge to the center of the consumption stage. Whether the pilot policies for smart elderly health care can promote the enjoyment-oriented consumption of the older adults has become an important issue. Based on the unbalanced panel data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2022, this paper explores the impact and mechanism of smart elderly health care on the enjoyment-oriented consumption of the older adults. The results reveal that smart elderly health care has significantly promoted the enjoyment-oriented consumption of the older adults. After a series of robustness tests, this conclusion still holds. Mechanism analysis shows that smart elderly health care increases the enjoyment-oriented consumption of the older adults by reducing medical expenses and decreasing precautionary savings. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promotion effect of smart elderly health care on the enjoyment-oriented consumption of the older adults is more significant in the eastern region, among internet users and highly educated people. Therefore, sustained policies for smart elderly health care are recommended.

Reemployment and Volunteer Service Participation among Older Adults in China

Liu Fengrui, Zhang Wenjuan, Chen Gong

2025, 49(5): 19-34.

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Based on data from the 2018 and 2020 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey(CLASS), this study systematically investigates the impact of reemployment on older adults' participation in volunteer service, as well as the underlying mechanisms, using a Logit model and the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method. The findings indicate that reemployment significantly promotes volunteer engagement of older adults, with high-frequency reemployment associated with increased frequency of volunteer participation. Mechanism analysis reveals that reemployment not only shapes positive psychological cues but also enhances the perception of social support, both of which promote elderly participation in volunteer service. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive impact of reemployment is more pronounced among older adults who reenter the workforce voluntarily, compared to those who do so passively. Further analysis indicates that reemployment among older adults has a stronger positive effect on participation in the informal type volunteer service than on participation in the formal type or dual-type volunteer service. To systematically activate the synergistic effects of reemployment and volunteer participation among older adults, it is recommended to remove participation barriers, reshape the societal recognition of “productive and joyful ageing”, and provide targeted incentive measures.

The Impact of Digital Divide on Older Adults' Consumption

Sheng Yi'nan, Zhang Meng

2025, 49(5): 35-51.

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Based on data from the 2023 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), this study empirically examines the impact of the digital divide on older adults' consumption and its underlying mechanisms. The results show that a high-level digital divide significantly suppresses older adults' consumption. This negative effect is mediated by older adults' negative perceptions and attitudes toward aging. The moderating effects analysis suggests that social participation, family and peer support for older adults' Internet use can mitigate the suppressive effect of a high-level digital divide on older adults' consumption. The moderating effects vary depending on whether there are non-older adults in the household. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the suppressive effect of a high-level digital divide on consumption is more pronounced among the oldest-old, rural older adults, and those residing in economically underdeveloped regions. This study emphasizes the need to strengthen digital infrastructure, promote the age-friendly digital design, foster intergenerational digital literacy support within families, and strengthen social support and participation in community activities. Furthermore, a stratified and categorized digital inclusion support system should be established to meet the diverse consumption needs of different older adult populations.

The Protection of Employment Rights for Elderly Workers amid the Gradual Postponement of the Statutory Retirement Age

Xue Changli

2025, 49(5): 52-61.

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China's current legal framework establishes a system of employment protection that provides strong safeguards for the employment rights of “older workers” while offering comparatively weaker protection for “post-retirement-age workers.” Moreover, existing policies inadequately promote employment for both groups. The implementation of a gradual postponement of the statutory retirement age has initiated reform and restructuring of both the retirement and employment systems. While maintaining the distinction between “older workers” and “post-retirement-age workers,” this decision highlights the substantial influence of retirement age on citizens' labor rights and suggests room for further legislative improvement. To address these issues, it is recommended to delink retirement age from labor rights, unify the categories of “older workers” and “post-retirement-age workers” under the broader term “elderly workers,” and focus legal reforms on this consolidated group. The labor law system should be optimized around the right to employment, while the retirement law system should be strengthened with the right to retirement at its core. Furthermore, an elderly-friendly policy framework should be established, covering areas such as job creation, skill enhancement, public employment services, and workplace environment protection, so as to enhance the legal safeguards for the employment rights of elderly workers.

Legal Framework Construction and Policy Optimization of China's Tax-supported Fertility Policies

Wang Dezhi, Wang Zhiheng

2025, 49(5): 62-69.

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Tax-supported fertility policies constitute a vital component of China's fertility support policy system, aiming to enhance citizens' fertility intention by reducing the financial burden of parenting. The main taxpayers covered by these policies include individuals, enterprises, preschool institutions, and childcare providers. Classified by taxpayer type, China's tax-supported fertility policies encompass: for individuals, special additional deductions in personal income tax and preferential deed tax on home purchases; for enterprises, corporate income tax incentives on taxable income; for preschools, value-added tax (VAT) reductions or exemptions; and for childcare providers, preferential tax treatments covering multiple taxes such as VAT, deed tax, property tax, and urban land use tax. To further strengthen the incentivizing effect of these policies, the following measures are recommended: for individuals, introducing optional household-based taxation for personal income tax, lowering VAT rates on maternal and infant products, and implementing targeted real estate tax incentives; for enterprises, establishing a fertility-friendly corporate taxation system.

Current Situation and Evolution Mechanism of Digital Disability among the Older Adults in China

Wang Wulin, Zhang Qi

2025, 49(5): 70-84.

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Digital disability has become a critical issue in the governance of ageing societies. Research on digital disability is of great significance for revealing the digital divide among older adults and promoting their sharing of digital dividends. Drawing on theories such as physical disability and the digital divide, this study constructs a process model of digital disability based on a “situation-path” framework, along with a corresponding measurement index system. Using data from the 2020 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), we empirically analyze the current situation and evolution mechanism of digital disability among older adults in China. The findings reveal two main aspects: On one hand, older adults in China generally exhibit a high level of digital disability, with strong heterogeneity within the disabled group. Specifically, cognitive impairment is the most prominent, digital creation ability is the most impaired, and social functional limitations are the most severe. On the other hand, digital disability follows a nonlinear three-stage evolutionary pathway, in which contextual factors (including subjective, objective, and environmental factors) exert either reinforcing or mitigating effects on the evolution process. Among these, subjective factors demonstrate the strongest moderating effect. In light of these findings, it is essential to strengthen contextual regulation and pathway-based interventions, implement targeted policies according to each developmental stage, and break the adverse coupling among subjective, objective, and environmental factors.

Public Transfer Payments, Social Pension Insurance, and Household Savings Rate under Population Ageing

Liu Pengfei, Zhang Li

2025, 49(5): 85-101.

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By extending the classical Overlapping Generations model, this study examines the effects of population ageing, public transfer payments, and social pension insurance on household savings rate, using data from the 2015~2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). The findings suggest: First, household savings rate declines with population ageing, whereas limited public transfer payments and low levels of social pension insurance significantly increase household savings rate. Second, the effect of social pension insurance on household savings rate depends on residents' risk preferences: among non-agricultural households, higher risk preferences weaken its saving-promoting effect, while agricultural households consistently exhibit a positive effect. Third, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the negative effect of population ageing on household savings rate is more pronounced in rural and central-western regions, where public transfer payments and social pension insurance exert stronger positive effects. The study enriches the understanding of China's high household savings rate and offers important policy implications for addressing population ageing.

The Impact of Population Ageing on China's Industrial Structure Transformation

Fang Wen, Li Wenjuan

2025, 49(5): 102-114.

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China is currently undergoing a critical transition in its demographic and economic structure. As a fundamental driver of economic and social development, demographic changes may significantly influence the transformation of the industrial structure. Therefore, examining the impact and mechanisms of population ageing on the restructuring of China's industries holds substantial practical importance. By constructing mathematical models and conducting empirical analyses based on provincial panel data from 1998 to 2023, this study finds that population ageing exerts a significant negative effect on the development of the secondary industry, a significant positive effect on the tertiary sector, and a notably positive influence on overall industrial structural transformation. Further analysis of mediating effects reveals that, during the observation period, population ageing accelerated industrial structural transformation through the labor supply scale effect and the consumption structure effect, while simultaneously decelerating the process via the labor productivity effect and the consumption scale effect. It is imperative to promote the development of the tertiary sector especially the producer services, sustain and enhance labor-intensive service industries, and simultaneously accelerate the growth of medium-and high-end manufacturing.

Gender Bargaining in Family Fertility Decision-Making and the Realization of Fertility Intention

Qing Shisong, Wang Jiahao, Lu Xi

2025, 49(5): 115-128.

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In the context of intertwined challenges of low fertility and gender equality, clarifying the intra-household fertility decision-making mechanisms is of great significance. Drawing on data from the 2018 and 2022 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study adopts a couple-centered perspective and applies the Diagonal Reference Model to quantify the relative influence of husband's and wife's fertility preferences on actual fertility behavior, thereby uncovering the underlying gender power dynamics. The results indicate that family fertility behavior is highly contingent upon the consistency of both partners' intentions, with the concordance of spousal preferences exerting a significant impact on behavioral outcomes. In cases of discordance, the husband's fertility intention tends to predominate, reflecting his relatively dominant role in reproductive decision-making. Further analysis indicates that having a son, residing in an urban area, and a wife's higher educational attainment relative to her husband may enhance the wife's bargaining power to some extent, but they are insufficient to fundamentally alter the gender-based power structure deeply entrenched in patriarchal culture. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of family fertility decision-making mechanisms and offers insights for the formulation and optimization of fertility-supportive policies.

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