Rural old age support in transitional China: Efforts between family and state

Abstract

This chapter reviews the transformation of old age support in rural China and examines the potential for rural communities to generate and allocate resources for rural old age support in the context of rural development to meet the challenges of decreasing family resources and inadequate state provision. In-depth interviews with elderly people, their families, community leaders, and government officials of three villages, respectively, located in three provinces, provide us with clear insights into existing local institutional arrangements for rural old age support and the role of both government and communities in organizing such programs. They confirm that rural communities are able to generate and distribute resources for old age support, to offer community opportunities for social inclusion through fair fl ows of resources to promote social harmony and stability, and to accelerate economic growth. The findings of the study imply that there is a need for policymakers to link state efforts toward old age protection to rural community development, and to encourage grassroots efforts in old age support.