Hu Ting, Chen Yu-Chih, Halvorsen Cal
School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong KongChina.
Innov Aging. 2024 Aug 11;8(9):igae073. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igae073. eCollection 2024.
Self-employment is a vital alternative to waged employment for older workers. Recent research has shown that employment transitions frequently occur when individuals approach retirement. However, evidence of how older people's health changes when they switch between self and waged employment is lacking, particularly outside Western contexts. To address this research gap, we explored the health impact of employment transitions for the older working population in China by hukou (urban or rural household registration status), region, and education.
We employed fixed effect models to examine the impact of employment transitions on cognitive, mental, and physical health and life satisfaction drawing on data from four waves (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study ( = 4,606). Given China's unique context, we analyzed the results of agricultural and nonagricultural work separately.
Individuals transitioning into or remaining in self-employment had lower self-rated health and life satisfaction than those remaining in waged employment. There was no significant difference in cognitive functioning or depressive symptoms. Additionally, those who transitioned from self-employment into waged employment rated their health worse than those who remained in waged employment. The health impacts were more apparent for agricultural than nonagricultural self-employment, particularly for older workers living in urban regions with rural hukou and lower education levels.
Most older Chinese transitioning into or staying self-employed are or were pushed into self-employment due to their low human capital and socioeconomic status, which affects their subsequent health. Pension reform and policies supporting older adults to stay in the workforce could help close the economic and health gaps between rural and urban older adults.
自主创业是老年劳动者获得有薪工作之外的重要选择。近期研究表明，个人临近退休时就业转换频繁发生。然而，缺乏关于老年人在自主创业和有薪工作之间转换时健康状况如何变化的证据，尤其是在西方背景之外。为填补这一研究空白，我们按户口（城市或农村户籍状况）、地区和教育程度，探讨了就业转换对中国老年劳动人口健康的影响。
我们运用固定效应模型，利用中国健康与养老追踪调查（CHRLLS）四轮（2011年、2013年、2015年和2018年）的数据（n = 4606），研究就业转换对认知、心理和身体健康以及生活满意度的影响。鉴于中国的独特背景，我们分别分析了农业和非农业工作的结果。
与仍从事有薪工作的人相比，转入或一直从事自主创业的人自评健康和生活满意度较低。认知功能或抑郁症状方面无显著差异。此外，从自主创业转入有薪工作的人对自己健康状况的评价比一直从事有薪工作的人更差。农业自主创业的健康影响比非农业自主创业更明显，尤其是对于具有农村户籍且教育水平较低的城市老年劳动者。
大多数转入或一直从事自主创业的中国老年人因人力资本和社会经济地位较低而被迫选择自主创业，这影响了他们随后的健康。养老金改革以及支持老年人继续留在劳动力市场的政策，有助于缩小城乡老年人口之间的经济和健康差距。
