The proposal aims to take a comprehensive look at the health, well-being, and economic activity of mature and elderly individuals in a wide range of countries. The analysis takes advantage of the fact that for the first time comparable longitudinal survey data are available, while moreover new data will be collected related to the design of a new Social Security System in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. An important theme in the proposal is the opportunity provided by variation in institutional environment both within (as a result of changes over time) and across countries. We will exploit this variation to learn about key behavioral parameters and to better understand the comparative effectiveness of policies for improving health and well being. The program project will make the following broad contributions: ? Expand our understanding of the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health and how childhood events affect well-being in old age, by using unique new data from China; ? Experimentally design a Social Security system and use the experimental environment to shed light on a number of mechanisms affecting health and well-being in old age; ? Exploit changes in U.S. economic conditions and elsewhere to shed light on the behavioral and protective effects (or otherwise) of institutions during uncertain economic times; ? Explore international comparisons of population health, their dynamics, and their interaction with European and American institutions to study how these affect outcomes at older ages, including retirement, financial and subjective well-being, mental and physical health. ? Pay special attention to the relationship between family, community, and work contexts and how they affect the physical and mental health of mature and elderly adults. The program project will also provide a public service in several respects: ? It will harmonize variable descriptions and definitions across datasets and make them available on a web-site for researchers, including tools that allow for data extraction. ? Make harmonized institutional information available to the wider research community.

Public Health Relevance

The recent availability of comparable longitudinal data on older populations opens new opportunities for research on comparative effectiveness of policies for improving health and well-being. This project will use data from more than 15 countries to analyze how the interaction between individual behavior, social context, institutions and policies shapes outcomes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01AG022481-08
Application #
8231470
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAG1-ZIJ-9 (O5))
Program Officer
Phillips, John
Project Start
2003-07-01
Project End
2013-02-28
Budget Start
2012-03-01
Budget End
2013-02-28
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$1,188,523
Indirect Cost
$429,222
Name
Rand Corporation
Department
Type
DUNS #
006914071
City
Santa Monica
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90401
Lei, Xiaoyan; Shen, Yan; Smith, James P et al. (2018) Life Satisfaction in China and Consumption and Income Inequalities. Rev Econ Househ 16:75-95
Lei, Xiaoyan; Shen, Yan; Smith, James P et al. (2017) SIBLING GENDER COMPOSITION'S EFFECT ON EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA. J Popul Econ 30:569-590
Vega, Alma; Aguila, Emma (2017) Foreign retirement income among new older immigrants in the United States. Int Migr 55:38-56
Aguila, Emma; Kapteyn, Arie; Perez-Arce, Francisco (2017) Consumption Smoothing and Frequency of Benefit Payments of Cash Transfer Programs. Am Econ Rev 107:430-435
Blanco, Luisa R; Aguila, Emma; Gongora, Arturo et al. (2017) Retirement Planning Among Hispanics: In God's Hands? J Aging Soc Policy 29:311-331
Aguila, Emma; Kapteyn, Arie; Tassot, Caroline (2017) Designing Cash Transfer Programs for an Older Population: The Mexican Case. J Econ Ageing 9:111-121
Aguila, Emma; Guerrero, Erick G; Vega, William A (2016) Sociodemographic characteristics associated with alcohol use among low-income Mexican older adults. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy 11:16
Aguila, Emma; Weidmer, Beverly A; Illingworth, Alfonso Rivera et al. (2016) Culturally Competent Informed-Consent Process to Evaluate a Social Policy for Older Persons With Low Literacy: The Mexican Case. Sage Open 6:
Aguila, Emma; Mejia, Nelly; Perez-Arce, Francisco et al. (2016) Costs of Extending the Noncontributory Pension Program for Elderly: The Mexican Case. J Aging Soc Policy 28:325-43
Kim, Jibum; Lee, Yun-Suk; Lee, Jinkook (2016) Living arrangements and suicidal ideation among the Korean older adults. Aging Ment Health 20:1305-1313

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