1. Research on the challenge of population structure brought by China’s ‘Wu Zi’ culture - Impact of economic growth and housing prices on population ageing
- Author
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Kuang-Cheng Chai, Rui-Yang Liu, Jia-wei Zhu, Hao-Ran Lan, Wen-Tao Xi, and Ke-Chiun Chang
- Abstract
Whether China can avoid falling into the “ageing trap” and find the main causes of the persistent ageing problem are theoretical and practical issues that need to be explored in depth. Based on inter-provincial panel data from 2006–2019, this paper uses stepwise regression to investigate whether economic growth can influence population ageing through housing prices. The study finds that: firstly, economic growth has a positive effect on population ageing. Secondly, economic growth exacerbates population ageing through the mediating effect of housing prices. Thirdly, economic growth causes regional economic disparities, resulting in a higher level of population ageing in economically developed regions than in non-economically developed regions. From the results of the study, it appears that economic growth has resulted in a larger gap between the income of people of the right age and the price of housing, accompanied by a decline in mortality rates and an increase in the burden of old age under higher levels of medical care, a disincentive to have children and an increase in the problem of ageing. It is recommended that the reform of the housing system should be deepened to facilitate the release of fertility intentions and to overcome the “ageing trap”. JEL: F012.4, F015, F036, F016, F037
- Published
- 2022