Changes of Type-Severity-Specific Disability-free Life Expectancies of Chinese Elderly, 1987-2006

Xiaochun Qiao, Peking University

The objective of this paper is to explore the disability-free life expectancies changed over the time period from 1987 to 2006. The first national disability survey in China was conducted in 1987. The sampling rate for this survey is 1.5% of the total population, which are 1.58 million people sampled in China. Nineteen years later, China conducted the second national disability survey in 2006. The sampling rate is 1.93% of the national population, which covered 2.53 million people in China. The proportions of disabled increased from 4.9 percent in 1987 to 6.4 percent in 2006 following the aging of the population. Using Sullivan Method, we calculate the disability-free life expectancies by type and severity of the disability of the elderly, and discuss their trends, measurement and the policy implications.