The Well-Being of the Elderly in Asia: A Four-Country Comparative Study

7. Work, Retirement, and Leisure

Chapter 7 WORK, RETIREMENT, AND LEISURE Albert1. Hermalin, Angelique Chan, Ann Biddlecom, andMary Beth Ofstedal We begin our analysis ofthe dimensions of well-being with an exploration of the labor force activities of the older respondents, the factors associated with work and retirement, and the nature and extent of their leisure . The focus on work marks a logical starting point as it represents for many a major defining characteristic over much of their lives and has strong influence on their assets and income as well as their health. The study of labor force participation at older ages and the process of retirement and subsequent "leisure" activities do not have a long tradition in developing countries. Until relatively recently, most people in developing countries worked in the agricultural sector or in other types of family-owned or self-employed enterprises. This, coupled with moderate life expectancies, meant that a high proportion ofthe population worked until late in life, adjusting as necessary for diminishing health or functioning. These arrangements have led some observers to call into question the relevance for developing countries ofthe concepts ofwork, retirement, and leisure used in more industrialized settings, as well as the measures typically used to classify activities and people (Cain, 1991; Dharmalingam, 1994; Chen and Jones, 1989, Chapter 5). Aware of these economic and cultural factors, investigators designed 231 232 The Well-Being ofthe Elderly in Asia the surveys to capture the variety of work arrangements that might exist in the countries under study. As described below, the detailed questions posed in the surveys permit a reasonable distinction between those working, working without pay and/or in a limited way, and not working. They also assessed the leisure activities of the elderly in a direct manner and elicited a number of attitudinal and preference items about work and leisure, which appear meaningful . The four countries under study differ considerably in their reliance on agriculture, with the proportion ofthe overall labor force so engaged varying from zero in Singapore, to 13 percent in Taiwan, 45 percent in the Philippines , and 64 percent in Thailand as of 1990 (see Table 2.5 in Chapter 2). It should also be noted that, within each country, those employed by the govermnent or by large-scale private enterprises experience retirement as a formal process of cessation from employment, with provision for continuing income through specified arrangements involving the individual, the employer, and/or the govermnent. In contrast with the more open-ended work cessation ages for farmers and the self-employed, mandatory retirement ages from civil service employment were quite young throughout the region, often stipulated at age 60 for men and 55 for women (see Chapter 3). Despite the absence of a sharp demarcation between work and retirement in agricultural communities, some settings have well-specified cultural arrangements for the transfer of duties from elders to children and the provision of assistance to parents. For example, Gallin (1966,215-16) describes how men and women in the Taiwanese village he studied gradually retired from farm work and household tasks as they got older, often after age 50, and observes that old age was generally a period of freedom and leisure. However, continued study of the village revealed that with economic development and more off-farm employment, mothers-in-law were placed in a less advantageous position vis-a-vis their daughters-in-law and sons, and lost much ofthe support they previously enjoyed (Gallin, 1994). These findings suggest that the nature of the local economy, in addition to cultural patterns, can influence support arrangements and work patterns at older ages. Nevertheless, the recency of the economic transformation in the region means that a high proportion of the current elderly are now or were previously in agriculture (except for Singapore) or in the self-employed or family-owned business sector. A cross-national study of labor force participation rates at older ages by Clark et al. (1999) confirms a strong positive relationship between the percentage ofworkers in agriculture and the percentage of older people in the labor force. This distinctive aspect must be kept in mind when analyzing work and retirement patterns . Work, Retirement, and Leisure 233 Table 7.1 shows the type of current or last job by age and gender in the four countries. Overall, the proportion of those over 60 whose current or past employment was in agriculture or in a non-agricultural family business was...