Income and family support among rural elderly in Zhejiang Province, China

This paper examines the net income of a sample of 100 elderly living in two villages in Zhejiang Province. A natural experimental study design was employed to examine village differences in prosperity while controlling for other linguistic and cultural/regional factors that might influence the economic status of the elderly. The paper examines the different sources of income for the sample elderly and assesses their general economic status. It found that while most of the income of the elderly derived from their own farming and sideline work, children also assisted elderly parents and provided a safety-net for them as their physical capacity waned. However, having many sons did not improve the economic status of the elderly and the majority of elderly now preferred only one son.