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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Poverty and single elders in Hong Kong | | Author(s) | Adrienne La Grange, Betty Yung Lock |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 22, part 2, March 2002 |
| Pages | pp 233-258 |
| Keywords | Living alone ; Single persons ; Expenditure [elderly] ; Poor elderly ; Measurement ; Hong Kong. |
| Annotation | A methodology is proposed for measuring poverty among people aged 60+ and living alone in Hong Kong. It uses a lifestyle approach, based on an index of subjective perceptions of deprivation consisting of 79 indicators covering the main expenditure categories of single elders in Hong Kong: housing, food, clothing, durable goods, fuel and water, entertainment and social activities, medical care and transport. The authors tentatively identify a poverty threshold of HK $7000 per month in regard to these expenditure categories. Respondents with incomes below $6000 reduce spending on miscellaneous items; at incomes of $5000 they reduce spending on clothing, entertainment, social activities and transport; and below $4000, they cut down on food, durable goods, and fuel and water expenditure. As incomes drop below $4000, respondents are forced to cut to a significant degree the 'necessities' of life, in particular food, to make ends meet. Despite this, levels of transfer payments to Hong Kong's eligible single elders are currently below this amount. It is noteworthy that respondents do not reduce housing, medical care, services and 'other' expenses when their incomes are below £7000 per month. Hong Kong's status as a 'tiger welfare regime' - and in particular its relatively comprehensive provision of public housing and health care - helps to explain this finding. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-020708205 A |
| Classmark | K8: SQ: J3: F:W6: 3R: 7DR |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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