With the deepening of the aging in China, the rural areas where the problem of "getting old before getting rich" is particularly prominent are facing enormous challenges. It is necessary to explore a feasible path to ensure the income security of the rural elderly in their later years. The sustainable livelihood approach from the perspective of capability believes that the elderly are active actors who can utilize various resources to actively construct livelihood strategies and guarantee their later life, which provides a new way to solve the problem of income security for the elderly.
This study aims to analyze the relationship between the livelihood capital, livelihood strategy and income security of the rural old people and the impact of the livelihood model formed by the combination of livelihood capital and livelihood strategy on income security by applying the sustainable livelihood approach. Based on this, we will discuss the policy options to improve the income security of the rural elderly and realize the sustainable eldercare.
Based on the balanced panel data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2013, 2015 and 2018, this study constructed a quantitative index system of livelihood capital of rural elderly, and used the entropy method to assign weight to measure the livelihood capital level. Based on the combination of productive activities and exchange activities, the types of livelihood strategies of the rural elderly are summarized, and the intertemporal dynamic transformation path of livelihood strategies is investigated by using the method of transition probability matrix. The latent class cluster analysis method is used to identify the livelihood models formed by the combination of livelihood capital and livelihood strategy. By constructing multinomial logistic regression model and panel fixed effect model, the relationship among livelihood capital, livelihood strategy and income security, and the relationship between livelihood mode and income security are analyzed.
The main conclusions of the study include:
(1)The livelihood capital characteristics of the rural elderly: 1)Human capital and social capital are important capital types that affect the total level of livelihood capital. 2)The livelihood capital structure is unbalanced, showing a dual structure dominated by human capital and social capital, and the level of tangible capital (natural capital, physical capital and financial capital) is relatively low. 3)During a five-year observation period, total capital, human capital and natural capital showed a downward trend, social capital showed an upward trend, physical capital and financial capital showed a fluctuating state. 4)The total livelihood capital of the rural elderly who are younger, have spouse and in the central region is higher.
(2)The livelihood strategies characteristics of the rural elderly: 1) The livelihood strategies of rural elderly people can be divided into five types, namely dependent strategy, exchange strategy, productive strategy, agricultural-exchange strategy and non-agricultural-exchange strategy. 2) The livelihood strategies are dynamic. Over time, the proportion of dependent strategy increased, the proportion of agriculture-exchange strategy decreased, and other strategies fluctuated. 3)The intertemporal dynamic transformation path is as follows: the exchange strategy is mainly convert to dependent strategy; agriculture-exchange strategy and non-agriculture-exchange strategy are mainly convert to productive strategy. 4)The rural elderly who are younger, have spouse, co-resident and in the eastern region are more likely to adopt non-agricultural-exchange strategy.
(3)The income security characteristics of the rural elderly: 1)The overall level of income security is low, and the main sources of income are family members' support, social security income and net income from production and operation, among them, the contribution rate of social security income increases year by year. 2)The average income security level of rural elderly with younger age, married and in the eastern region is higher.
(4)The impact of livelihood capital of rural elderly on income security: All types of livelihood capital contribute to improving the level of income security, of which financial capital has the largest direct impact. In terms of group differences, human capital is more beneficial to low-income groups, has a poverty reduction effect, and has the greatest impact on the income security of mateless groups; compared with the younger group, natural capital and physical capital are more beneficial to the middle- and old-aged group. The income security effect of various livelihood capital owned by rural elderly people is influenced by village terrain and urbanization level. Financial capital plays an important role in income security in different environments. The better the village terrain is, the more likely the livelihood capital will lead to the differentiation of income security. The income security effect of natural capital in urban villages is not significant.
(5)The impact of livelihood capital on livelihood strategies of rural elderly people: The choice of livelihood strategies depends on the level and allocation of various livelihood capital, with human capital having the greatest impact, which has a positive impact on all strategies except dependent type; natural capital has a significant positive impact on productive strategy, agricultural-exchange strategy and non-agricultural-exchange strategy; physical capital has a significant positive impact on exchange strategy, agriculture-exchange strategy and non-agricultural-exchange strategy; financial capital has a positive impact on non-agricultural-exchange strategy; social capital has a positive impact on exchange strategy, but has a negative impact on productive strategy. In terms of group differences, the effects of human capital, natural capital and financial capital on livelihood strategies are robust, and social capital has a greater impact on livelihood strategies of middle- and old-aged and mateless groups than those of young-old and married groups. The relationship between livelihood capital and livelihood strategy is affected by village terrain and urbanization degree. Human capital plays a fundamental role in livelihood strategy under different environments. The better the village terrain, the greater the impact of natural capital on livelihood strategy, while physical capital and social capital have no impact on livelihood strategy in urbanization villages.
(6)The impact of livelihood strategies on income security for rural elderly people: Different livelihood strategy choices lead to differentiation in income security levels, among which non-agricultural-exchange is the best livelihood strategy type. Labor participation, land transfer and grandchild-caring can provide income security. In terms of group differences, the advantage effect of non-agricultural-exchange strategy is mainly reflected in the elderly group below middle income.The characteristics of the optimal livelihood strategy for the young-old and married elderly group are diversification and non-agriculture, while the characteristics of the optimal livelihood strategy for the middle- and old-aged and mateless elderly group are carrying out productive activities. The income security effect of livelihood strategies adopted by rural elderly people is influenced by the terrain conditions of the village. The better the terrain conditions of the village, the more likely the choice of livelihood strategies will lead to differentiation in income security.
(7)The impact of rural elderly people's livelihood models on income security: According to the different combinations of livelihood capital and livelihood strategies, this study classifies the following four types of livelihood modes: feeding model, traditional model, developing model and independent model. The feeding model mainly adopts dependent strategy, and the level of various types of livelihood capital is low. The traditional model mainly adopts agriculture-exchange strategy, with a high level of natural capital and physical capital. The developing model mainly adopts non-agricultural-exchange strategies and has a high level of human capital, financial capital and social capital. The independent model mainly adopts productive strategy, and all kinds of livelihood capital are at the middle level. Among them, the developing model can achieve the best results. In terms of group differences, the traditional model is more conducive to low-income, middle- and old-aged groups. The income security effect of the livelihood model implemented by rural elderly people is influenced by the terrain conditions of the village. The better the terrain conditions of the village, the more likely the choice of livelihood mode will lead to differentiation in income security.
Based on the above research findings, this article discusses from six aspects and proposes four policy recommendations to improve the income security level of rural elderly groups, including: improve the level of livelihood capital and optimize various types of capital allocation; extend the production cycle in later years and create diverse livelihood opportunities; reshape intergenerational support relationships and enhance family elderly care capabilities; improve the elderly security system and prevent the risk of poverty among the elderly.
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