Abstract
Despite significant improvements in education and a decline in the percentage of immigrants in elderly population, the poverty risk in old age and the actual number of impoverished elders in Hong Kong have both increased significantly over the past two decades. This study assesses the changing rates of elderly poverty in Hong Kong over the last 20 years and, by means of decomposition analysis, identifies the factors shaping their evolution. The analysis is based on the 5 % microdata samples from the 1991, 2001, and 2011 censuses covering Hong Kong residents aged 65 and above. The results show that the rate of poverty among older adults increased from 27.7 % in 1991 to 38.7 % in 2001, and then to 41.4 % in 2011. The increase was largely caused by a significant decline in the number of earners in the households with older adults, which offset the poverty-reducing effects of education and the percentage decrease of immigrants.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 551-564 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Social Indicators Research |
Volume | 129 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2016 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Sociology and Political Science
- General Social Sciences
User-Defined Keywords
- Decomposition analysis
- Elderly poverty
- Hong Kong