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Immigration, living arrangement and the poverty risk of older adults in H ong K ong
Author(s) -
Chan LihShing,
Chou KeeLee
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/ijsw.12187
Subject(s) - poverty , immigration , demography , census , gerontology , ethnic group , geography , psychology , medicine , sociology , economics , population , economic growth , archaeology , anthropology
Using 2011 census data, this study investigated how living arrangement affects disparities in poverty between older adults (aged 65 and older) who migrated to H ong K ong from M ainland C hina and those who were born in H ong K ong. Our sample consisted of 29,987 immigrants and 9,398 natives, all of whom were ethnic C hinese and living in H ong K ong at the time of the census. We found higher poverty rates among older immigrants than among natives, a disparity that persisted even after adjusting for living arrangement, human capital characteristics, assimilation‐related variables, household composition and demographic characteristics. We also found that living arrangement moderated the impact of immigrant status on the poverty risk among older adults, and that the impact was due mainly to the number of earners in the household. The implications of our results with respect to poverty among older adults and anti‐poverty measures are discussed.