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This paper analyzes the policy effects of China's largest social assistance program on the psychological health and wellbeing of the recipients by the regression discontinuity approach based on the 2014 China Family Panel Studies Survey (CFPS). By excluding other confounding factors and addressing the endogeneity problems, this paper shows that China's minimum living security system (MLSS) has produced significant welfare stigmatizing effects which have negatively influenced recipients' psychological health and wellbeing. The MLSS reduces recipients' self-satisfaction towards life, decreases the levels of happiness and self-confidence, and results in poorer interpersonal relationships and self-evaluations. It also increases the probabilities of feeling depressed, helpless and hopeless. The frequencies reporting having the difficulties of doing something are significantly higher among the MLSS recipients. Corresponding strategies and professional services are required for reducing the welfare stigmatizing effects on recipients' psychological health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals in developing countries often engage in paid and unpaid work till late in life due to low household savings and limited welfare provisions. Yet, physical disabilities associated with aging can limit their ability to work. While work can be beneficial for economic and psychological well-being, this paper investigates whether engagement in paid and unpaid work mediates the impact of physical disabilities on quality of life for older adults. We exploit the different levels of health services and social security in rural and urban China and India to examine the effect of public provisions in the process. We use nationally representative data of individuals aged 50 and above from the World Health Organization Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health Wave 1, conducted in 2008–10 in China and in 2007–08 in India. Using a causal mediation analysis framework, we find that paid work plays a minor role in mediating the effect of physical disabilities on quality of life in all societies, and the mediated effect is smaller in urban China than in other societies. Unpaid work is beneficial only in urban China, and it does not mediate the impact of physical disabilities on quality of life elsewhere. The findings indicate that promoting productive engagement alone, without improving basic public provisions, will have limited impact on improving quality of life of the aging population in developing countries. • In developing countries, both paid and unpaid work is common out of necessity. • Older adults bear a double burden of paid and unpaid work in rural China and India. • Productive aging has limited impact on quality of life in developing countries. • Impact of productive aging on quality of life varies with public provisions. • Physical disabilities associated with aging is less consequential in urban China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the ageing of the Chinese population and elderly mobility impact on the Chinese social infrastructure, triggering challenges to maintain elderly wellbeing. This paper reflects on the notion that seasonal mobility promotes wellbeing, and explores how two crucial factors, namely, forced migration and health conditions, influence the relations between seasonal retirement mobility and wellbeing. This study analyses amenity-led seasonal retired mobilities to Sanya as a case study, and adopts and develops a conceptual framework for relations between mobility and wellbeing in terms of daily activity, sociality, and context through seasonal mobility. Qualitative methods including participant observation, non-participant observation, in-depth interviews, and mobile ethnography were used to collect data. This revealed the heterogeneity of health conditions, and the constrained mobilities of seasonal retirees. Health and willingness for mobility are shown as significant factors in influencing the relations between mobility and wellbeing, which are in turn complicated and dynamic. Seasonal mobilities bring about difficulties for retirees particularly in terms of their efforts to reconstruct their previous life and self-continuities. However, it is argued that these retirees can merely maintain temporary and superficial wellbeing due to constant health concerns and uncertainties over potential temporary or permanent return to their places of origin. Those with serious health problems have more limitations, sacrificing other aspects of wellbeing for physical health. Practical implications from state, destination, and individual levels to better facilitate seasonal mobility and promote wellbeing are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the past three decades, an estimated 200 million rural residents have moved to urban centers in China. They are “sojourners” in the cities and maintain close ties with their home communities, which we term trans-local ties. This paper examines the relationship between migrants'' social ties and their mental health, and contrasts the trans-local ties with migrants'' ties in the receiving communities, which are termed local ties. We expect that for the migrants, trans-local ties foster better mental health not only through providing emotional support but also through generating favorable social comparisons; whereas local ties may furnish important social support, but may also produce negative social comparisons. We use data collected in Shanghai to test our expectations. We compare the migrants to a sample of Shanghai natives to assess patterns of relationship between social ties and mental health that are unique to the migrants. We find that for the migrants, more numerous trans-local ties are associated with better mental health, whereas the number of local ties is not a significant predictor. This pattern is not observed among the Shanghai natives. Moreover, for migrants, trans-local ties foster a favorable evaluation of their status in Shanghai and buffer their perception of discrimination; in contrast, more numerous local ties tend to be associated with a more negative perception of social status. The findings highlight an often-overlooked pathway between social ties and health outcomes, namely, through influencing social comparison and perceived social status. This study also suggests that in addition to reducing institutional and personal discrimination, facilitating close bonds between the migrants and their home communities may be a productive way to foster their well-being, in the context of contemporary urban China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]