Explaining the Urban-Rural Divergence in Disability among Older Chinese Using a Large Scale National Dataset

Objectives. To examine divergences in the urban/rural disability among older adults in China and decompose these into variation represented by characteristics of individuals and communities and the different ways determinants impact on disability. Methods. Oaxaca-Blinder regression-based decomposition is applied to older adults 60 and older in China using the 20,000 observation sample from the 2000 Sample Survey on Aged Population in Urban/Rural China. Disability is determined by limitations in conducting Activities of Daily Living. Determinants represent four domains: socioeconomic status (SES), access, behaviors and social engagement. Results. Rural elders are significantly more likely to have a disability (21% vs. 15%). The urban advantage is explained by differences in compositional variables, particularly those representing individual and community level SES. Rural elders benefit more from economic, social, and infrastructural resources differs by urban versus rural residence when it comes to determining disability. Conclusions. Programs aimed at increasing education and income of rural residents would go a long way toward minimizing the rural disability disadvantage, as would investments in rural