Abstract
China becomes an aging society in a pace much faster than other countries because of its one-child policy implemented since 1980. This chapter examines the current situation of population aging in China, the government policies and regulations surrounding elderly care, and the experiences of other Asian and Oceanian countries in dealing with population aging. The rapid population aging poses severe challenges for the elderly care in China, which has not established an adequate social security system, but it also provides abundant opportunities for enterprises and entrepreneurs in the aging industry from other Asian and Oceanian countries as well as China. China can learn from the experiences of industrialized Asian and Oceanian countries and regions in developing its elderly care industry.
TopIntroduction
Population ageing is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, including labour and financial markets, the demand for goods and services, such as housing, transportation and social protection, as well as family structures and intergenerational ties (United Nations, 2019).
China is undergoing a population-aging process much faster than other countries. One key cause of the aging process is the one-child policy implemented very strictly by the Chinese government since 1980, which has dramatically reduced China’s total fertility rate and changed the outlook of Chinese people on childbearing and family. Although the one-child policy was abolished in 2015 and now two children are allowed for all families, the most recent data on the birth rate suggest that the policy change has not increased the birth rate and that China’s population is likely to decrease. Other East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea, which do not have any restriction on childbearing, also have a low birth rate, indicating that Chinese people may not change from having one child to having two or three, even though the Chinese government now encourages them to do so. The increased life expectancy and decreased birth rate will accelerate China’s population-aging process and pose a serious challenge to China’s social security system as well as to elderly care (Ma, 2014). As of 2018, people aged over 60 make up 17.3 percent of China’s population, and the proportion of those aged 65 or above is 11.4 percent. If the new two-child policy fails to change people’s outlook on childbearing and family size, the feared 4-2-1 pattern, i.e. one child is responsible for two parents and four grandparents, might become reality. In other parts of Asia and in Oceania, 27 percent of the population in Japan are aged 65 or above, and 16 percent are in Australia. China may benefit by drawing on their experiences of elderly care.
The challenge for China in social security and elderly care provides opportunities for the pension industry and elderly care and their related industries. The traditional elderly care system in China relies on adult children and parents living with their children when they need personal care. However, due to the 4-2-1 family pattern, a young adult or couple is certainly unable to care for six elderly people. The most efficient elderly care should be elderly residential care homes, with professional staff members providing services. The decrease in the total fertility rate may lead to a labor shortage and not enough workers being available for work in elderly care homes. Staff members in the elderly care homes will need many different tools to increase their productivity in terms of caring the elderly. Therefore, the production of equipment for elderly care may also become a promising manufacturing sector. Besides elderly care homes and equipment, pension and elderly-related other service sectors will also grow with the aging population. As the working population decreases, the demand for smart machines to help elderly people and their caregivers will increase.
The objectives of this chapter are to examine: 1) the current situation and future trend of China’s population-aging process; 2) the prospects for China’s elderly care industry and its related sectors; and 3) the potential for cooperation and business development for Asian and Oceanian countries in elderly care provision, technologies and related products and services. The rest of this chapter is structured as follows: the next section examines China’s population-aging process; this is followed by a section investigating current issues and the Chinese government’s policies and regulations regarding the elderly care industry; a section on other Asian and Oceanian countries’ experience; and a section on the booming business opportunities in the Chinese elderly care market. The last section concludes the chapter.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Total Fertility Rate: The average number of children a woman would bear over the course of her lifetime if current age-specific fertility rates remain constant throughout her childbearing years.
Old Age Dependency Ratio: The ratio between the population aged 65 or above and that aged 15-64 or 20-64.
Aging Industries: Industries that provide elderly care as well as elderly care associated products and services.
Empty Nest Family: Households without prime-age adults which include four types, family comprised of single elderly, family comprised of one elderly and juveniles, family comprised of an old couple, and family comprised of an old couple and juveniles.
Population Aging: The increasing proportion of the elderly in the total population. Internationally, a country or region goes into population aging when 10 percent of the total population is comprised of people who’s 60 years above, or when 7 percent of population are aged above 65.
4-2-1 Pattern: One child is responsible for two parents and four grandparents.
Life Expectancy: The number of years a newborn infant could expect to live if prevailing patterns of age-specific mortality rates at the time of birth stay the same throughout the infant’s life.