Chinese Aging Studies

The goal of RAND's research on aging in China is to facilitate collaborative research with Chinese scholars on issues of population aging in China.

Featured Publications

• Can China Age Healthily?

  Yaohui Zhao, James P. Smith, John Strauss

  This study examines China's aging population.

• Effects of Social Activities on Cognitive Functions: Evidence from CHARLS

  Yuqing Hu, Xiaoyan Lei, James P. Smith, Yaohui Zhao

  It is important to study determinants of cognitive function to understand how to best postpone and slow down its eventual decline. Social activities are of particular interest to us as they play a significant role in the daily lives of most Chinese elderly.

• Gender Differences in Cognition in China and Reasons for Change Over Time: Evidence from CHARLS

  Xiaoyan Lei, James P. Smith, Xiaoting Sun, Yaohui Zhao

  In this paper, we model gender differences in cognitive ability in China using a new sample of middle-aged and older Chinese respondents.

• Healthy Aging in China

  James P. Smith, John Strauss, Yaohui Zhao

  We review positive and negative forces for healthy aging in China now and in the future.

• Gender Differences in Cognition Among Older Adults in China

  Xiaoyan Lei, Xiaoyan Lei, Yuqing Hu, John McArdle, James P. Smith, Yaohui Zhao

  In this paper, we model gender differences in cognitive ability in China using a new sample of middle-aged and older Chinese respondents.

• Social Environment, Life Challenge, and Health Among the Elderly in Taiwan

  Megan K. Beckett, Noreen Goldman, Maxine Weinstein, I-Fen Lin, Yi-Li Chuang

  We use an ongoing longitudinal survey of elderly Taiwanese to examine the linkages among health, the social environment, and exposure to life challenge.

• Health Outcomes and Socio-Economic Status Among the Elderly in China: Evidence from the CHARLS Pilot

  John Strauss, Xiaoyan Lei, Albert Park, Yan Shen, James P. Smith, Zhe Yang, Yaohui Zhao

  We are concerned in this paper with measuring health outcomes among the elderly in Zhejiang and Gansu provinces, China, and examining the relationships between different dimensions of health status and measures of socio-economic status (SES).

• The Effects of Childhood Health on Adult Health and SES in China

  James P. Smith, Yan Shen, John Strauss, Yang Zhe, Yaohui Zhao

  The authors model the consequences of childhood health on adult health and socioeconomic status outcomes in China using a new sample of middle aged and older Chinese respondents.

• Do Social Networks Improve Chinese Adults' Subjective Well-Being?

  Xiaoyan Lei, Yan Shen, James P. Smith, Guangsu Zhou

  This paper studies relationships between social networks, health and subjective well-being (SWB) using nationally representative data of the Chinese Population--the Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS).

• The Health of Aging Populations in China and India

  Somnath Chatterji, Paul Kowal, Colin Mathers, Nirmala Naidoo, Emese Verdes, James P. Smith, Richard Suzman

  Our data compare health status, risk factors, and chronic diseases among people age forty-five and older in China and India.

• Community Effects on Elderly Health: Evidence from CHARLS National Baseline

  James P. Smith, Meng Tian, Yaohui Zhao

  There is increasing interest in neighborhood or area effects on health and individual development. China, due to its vast regional variations in health infrastructure and geography and relative immobility of older residents, provides a rare opportunity to study such effects.

• Cohort Profile: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

  Yaohui Zhao, Yisong Hu, James P. Smith, John Strauss, Gonghuan Yang

  The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of persons in China 45 years of age or older and their spouses, including assessments of social, economic, and health circumstances of community-residents. CHARLS examines health and economic adjustments to rapid ageing of the population in China.

• Modeling Disability Trajectories and Mortality of the Oldest-Old in China

  Zachary Zimmer, Linda G. Martin, Daniel S. Nagin, Bobby L. Jones

  This article uses a group-based modeling approach to jointly estimate disability and mortality trajectories over time based on data from the population aged 80 and older in China, and explores relations of demographic, socioeconomic, and early-life characteristics to membership in gender-specific trajectory groups.

• Trends in Late-Life Disability in Taiwan, 1989-2007: The Roles of Education, Environment, and Technology

  Linda G. Martin, Zachary Zimmer, Baai-Shyun Hurng

  This study assessing trends in late-life disability in the emerging economy of Taiwan showed that limitations in seeing, hearing, and instrumental activities of daily living declined.

• Living Arrangements of the Elderly in China: Evidence from CHARLS

  Xiaoyan Lei, John Strauss, Meng Tian, Yaohui Zhao

  Using information from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this paper studies the living arrangements of the elderly in China.