G E N D E R A N D T H E R E G I O N ’ S E M E R G I N G D E V E L O P M E N T C H A L L E N G E S
TABLE 5.1 Evidence shows no systematic gender differences in consumption poverty among the elderly, regardless of family status
FIGURE 5.13 Women ages 65 and above are far more likely to be widowed than men
Percentage of elderly individuals (65 and over) living under US$1.25 per day
Source: World Bank estimates based on East Asia and Pacific household poverty monitoring database. Note: Bolded numbers are statistically significant differences between male- and female-headed households and between widowed and married households at the 10 percent level.
determining the well-being of elderly men and women. Women are far more likely than men to be widows (figure 5.13). In Cambodia, the percentage of women who have lost a spouse is more than triple that of men, and women are also less likely to have living children than their male counterparts (Knodel 2009). In T hailand, 80 percent of elderly men are living with their spouses, compared to only about half of elderly women (Knodel and Chayovan 2008). In Indonesia, Cambodia and Timor Leste, the differences are dramatic. In I ndonesia and Cambodia, approximately 65 percent of elderly women are widowed compared to approximately 20 percent of men; in Timor-Leste, 73 percent of elderly women are widowed compared to 30 percent of men. Marital status is the most important correlate of household circumstances among the elderly. Across the region, unmarried elderly are more likely than married elderly to live with their children and receive support from their children, either directly through transfers or through their living arrangements (Friedman et al. 2003; Knodel and Chayovan
60 50 40 30 20 10
male
es -L or
Tim
Ca
m
bo
di
te
a
sia In
do
ne
m Vi
et
na
d an ail Th
ne
s
0
pi
30.4 27.4 8.3 11.1 27.5 28.3 13.6 12.0 0.1 0.2 24.1 24.6 12.9 13.8
ilip
33.0 28.0 8.5 9.8 27.9 28.8 13.2 11.9 0.1 0.2 18.9 23.1 14.9 14.9
DR
29.3 24.7 8.2 17.6 27.3 26.4 13.9 12.4 0.1 0.1 25.9 27.9 11.6 8.6
Ph
Married Widowed Married Cambodia Widowed Married Lao PDR Widowed Married Philippines Widowed Married Thailand Widowed Married Timor-Leste Widowed Married Vietnam Widowed
oP
Total
La
Female
percent
Male
Indonesia
percentage of widowers and widows among population age 65 and above, by gender
80 70
Marital status
Country
197
female
Source: World Bank staff estimates using CSES (NIS Cambodia), 2008 data; SUSENAS (BPS Indonesia), 2009 data; LECS (LSB Lao PDR), 2008 data; Mongolia LSMS (NSO Mongolia), 2007–08 data; Philippines Family Income and Expenditures Survey (NSCB Philippines), 2006 data; Thailand Household SocioEconomic Survey (NSO Thailand), 2009 data; Timor-Leste Survey of Living Standards (SLS) (NSD TimorLeste) 2007, data; and VHLSS (GSO Vietnam), 2008 data.
2008; Knodel and Zimmer 2009; Ofstedal, Reidy, and Knodel 2004). However, no systematic evidence shows that widows and widowers are consistently likely to be poorer than married elderly individuals (table 5.1), although they are more likely to perceive income inadequacy or lower rates of satisfaction with their economic status in many countries in the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam (Friedman et al. 2003; Knodel and Chayovan 2008; Masud, Haron, and Gikonyo 2008; Ofstedal, Reidy, and Knodel 2004). Elderly women have access to fewer personal income sources and less-diversified income portfolios than elderly men. The lack of association between gender and poverty in the elderly population is partly because women, and in particular unmarried women, are more likely to receive money from children and other relatives than men and less likely to have their own sources of income (Masud, Haron, and Gikonyo 2008). Furthermore, men’s income is more dispersed across a number of sources than women’s