Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/299305 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
ADB Economics Working Paper Series No. 730
Publisher: 
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila
Abstract: 
Demographics in Malaysia and Viet Nam are evolving rapidly, potentially disrupting traditional family support to older people. We estimate a set of Poisson random effects models with panel data from the Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey and the Viet Nam Aging Survey to analyze how living arrangements, marital status, and support from children influence the mental and physical health of older people. In Malaysia, having living children plays an important protective role for both mental and physical health, while living with a son appears to have a protective effect for physical health. Results are similar for Viet Nam, except older women, who are at greater risk of mental and physical health problems, appear to enjoy a greater protective effect for their mental health from a child living nearby than do men. Our analysis underscores the importance of social safety nets for the health of senior citizens living alone.
Subjects: 
mental health
well-being
physical health
depression
gender
women
aging
JEL: 
I14
J16
O53
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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