Choi N G
School of Social Work, SUNY/Buffalo 14260-1050, USA.
J Aging Soc Policy. 1997;9(3):21-42. doi: 10.1300/J031v09n03_02.
Despite great overall improvement in the elderly's economic status over the past two decades, minority elders still comprise the poorest population group of all. Nonetheless, the income security of minority elders has not been given special attention in the scrutiny in recent years of the size and the future of various federal programs affecting older persons. Based on data from the 1971, 1981, and 1991 public-use data tapes of the Current Population Survey, the racial difference in income status of the elderly and the role of Social Security and Supplemental Security income versus that of income from private sources are analyzed in terms of how income inequality among races is ameliorated or escalated. The findings show that racial/ethnic differences in income status increased between 1970 and 1990. The findings also confirm that, for both elderly singles and couples, Social Security is the most important income source. Without it, poverty rates among elderly black couples, for example, would have increased by as much as 48.5 percentage points in 1990. Policies that would help improve the income status of the low-income elderly are discussed.
尽管在过去二十年里老年人的经济状况总体上有了很大改善，但少数族裔老年人仍然是最贫困的人口群体。然而，在近年来对影响老年人的各种联邦项目的规模和未来进行审查时，少数族裔老年人的收入保障并未得到特别关注。基于1971年、1981年和1991年当期人口调查的公共使用数据磁带中的数据，从种族间收入不平等是如何得到改善或加剧的角度，分析了老年人收入状况的种族差异以及社会保障和补充保障收入与私人来源收入的作用。研究结果表明，1970年至1990年间，收入状况的种族/族裔差异有所增加。研究结果还证实，对于老年单身者和夫妇来说，社会保障是最重要的收入来源。例如，没有社会保障，1990年老年黑人夫妇的贫困率将增加多达48.5个百分点。文中还讨论了有助于改善低收入老年人收入状况的政策。
