Aging Society In China

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Aging society in China-explore feasible solutions for government Nowadays, aging problem seems a universal phenomenon in developed countries such as Japan, British or Germany. Nevertheless, China, as a developing country, became aging society in 1999 and was still aging at an unexpectedly rapid rate (Chinese fifth population census, 2010). Predictably, the proportion of the elderly in China will reach 30% in 2050(中国产业信息, 2015). To relieve the seemingly irresistible aging trend and resolve its derived issues, certain policies concerning not only the proportion but also the state of the elderly themselves and their families can be enacted by the government. Aging problem extensively exists in China, among 34 provinces, 26 of which has aging problem.(Chinese…show more content…
First and foremost, it is the one-child policy enacted by China government in 1970s to relieve overpopulation that primarily accounted for the aging problem, since the policy tremendously reduced the total fertility rate of China and accordingly increased the percentage of aging population. Secondly, China has a large population base, which resulted in the considerable number of the elderly. Furthermore, in 1950s to 1970s, with Chairman Mao’s advocacy “There is strength in numbers.”, China underwent a baby boom and the population sharply increased, which now just in time are aging and will keep burdening the aging society.(Tien,1982;Du, 1983). Besides the distinct factors, there are some common reasons similar to the developed countries. Ever since the reform and open up in 1979, China has undergone an economic prosperity, which greatly improved people’s living standard and thus extended average life expectancy and reduced the death rate. Furthermore, the development in medical technology also served as the same function. Last but not least, since the social pension system is gradually being perfected, the traditional idea of “raising more children in case of being old” was being changed, partially for which the total fertility rate…show more content…
First of all, owing to an aging population that leads to declining labor force and lowers marginal product(Chi, 2006), China has encountered the Lewis turning point(Cai, Zhao, 2012), which implied a labor shortage and therefore threatened the sustainability of Chinese labor intensive industry. Secondly, with the distinct situation named “aging before affluence”(Cai, 2010), the majority of working-age people would bear great pressure of age-caring fund, which conspicuously reduced their living standard. Moreover, with weakening in consuming intention of the elderly and their family, the total gross national consumption would suffer, which would ultimately encumber economic development.(Zhang). Thirdly, the large unproductive aging population would escalate social security expenditures. (Jimeno, Rojas&Puente, 2006). Besides, after retirement, the elderly tend to participate in some collective activities like square dance to eliminate their boredom or loneliness, which may generate noise and thus bother other citizens’ life.(Zhao,

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