Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T22:25:44.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cross-national insights into the relationship between wealth and wellbeing: a comparison between Australia, the United States of America and South Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2011

SARANG KIM ,
KERRY A. SARGENT-COX ,
DAVINA J. FRENCH ,
HAL KENDIG  and
KAARIN J. ANSTEY
SARANG KIM
Affiliation:
Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
KERRY A. SARGENT-COX
Affiliation:
Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
DAVINA J. FRENCH*
Affiliation:
Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
HAL KENDIG
Affiliation:
Ageing, Work and Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
KAARIN J. ANSTEY
Affiliation:
Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
*
Address for correspondence: Davina French, Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, Canberra, 0200, ACT, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The positive relationship between wealth and wellbeing has received considerable attention over the last three decades. However, little is known about how the significance of wealth for the health and wellbeing of older adults may vary across societies. Furthermore, researchers tend to focus mainly on income rather than other aspects of financial resources even though older adults often rely on fixed income, particularly after retirement. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (N=1,431), the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States of America (USA; N=4,687), and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA; N=5,447), this exploratory cross-national study examined the relationship between wealth satisfaction and objective wealth and wellbeing (measured as self-rated health and life satisfaction) among older Australians, Americans and Koreans (50+ years). Regression analyses showed that wealth satisfaction was associated with wellbeing over and above monetary wealth in all three countries. The relationship between monetary wealth and self-rated health was larger for the US than Australian and Korean samples, while the additional contribution of wealth satisfaction to life satisfaction was larger for the Korean than the Australian and US samples. These findings are discussed in terms of the cultural and economic differences between these countries, particularly as they affect older persons.

Keywords

cross-nationalAustraliaUSAKoreawealth satisfactionsubjective wellbeingolder adultshealth
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 41 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, P., Hurd, M. D., McFadden, D., Merrill, A. and Ribeiro, T. 2003. Healthy, wealthy, and wise? Tests for direct causal paths between health and socioeconomic status. Journal of Econometrics, 112, 1, 3–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bethencourt, C. and Galasso, V. 2008. Political complements in the welfare state: health care and social security. Journal of Public Economics, 92, 3/4, 609–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowling, A. 1995. What things are important in people's lives? A survey of the public's judgements to inform scales of health related quality of life. Social Science & Medicine, 41, 10, 1447–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buhmann, B., Rainwater, L., Schmaus, G. and Smeeding, T. M. 1988. Equivalence scales, well-being, inequality and poverty: sensitivity estimates across ten countries, using the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) database. Review of Income and Wealth, 34, 2, 115–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cai, L. 2009. Be wealthy to stay healthy: an analysis of older Australians using the HILDA survey. Journal of Sociology, 45, 1, 55–70.Google Scholar
Choi, A. 2009. Sequential educational expansion, equality, and growth in the Republic of Korea. KEDI Journal of Educational Policy, 6, 2, 21–47.Google Scholar
Danigelis, N. L. and McIntosh, B. R. 2001. Gender's effect on the relationships linking older Americans' resources and financial satisfaction. Research on Aging, 23, 4, 410–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deaton, A. S. and Paxson, C. H. 1998. Aging and inequality in income and health. The American Economic Review, 88, 2, 248–53.Google Scholar
Denton, M. and Boos, L. 2007. The gender wealth gap: structural and material constraints and implications for late life. Journal of Women & Aging, 19, 3/4, 105–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diener, E., Oishi, S. and Lucas, R. E. 2003. Personality, culture and subjective well-being: emotional and cognitive evaluations of life. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 403–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diener, E. and Seligman, M. E. P. 2004. Beyond money: toward an economy of well-being. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 1, 1–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dolan, P., Peasgood, T. and White, M. 2008. Do we really know what makes us happy? A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Psychology, 29, 1, 94–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsieh, C. M. 2001. Correlates of financial satisfaction. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 52, 2, 135–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jang, Y., Poon, L. W., Kim, S. Y. and Shin, B. K. 2004. Self-perception of ageing and health among older adults in Korea. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 4, 485–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, J. R. and Fazio, E. M. 2005. Economic status over the life course and racial disparities in health. Journal of Gerontology, 60B, Special Issue II, 76–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, J. R. and Pearlin, L. I. 2006. Financial strain over the life course and health among older adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47, 1, 17–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kapteyn, A., Smith, J. P. and van Soest, A. 2007. Vignettes and self-reports of work disability in the United States and the Netherlands. The American Economic Review, 97, 1, 461–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keith, V. M. 1993. Gender, financial strain, and psychological distress among older adults. Research on Aging, 15, 2, 123–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, B. W. 2008. Future of economic growth for South Korea. Asian Economic Journal, 22, 4, 397–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, H. 2006. Older women's health and its impact on wealth. Journal of Women and Aging, 18, 1, 75–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, I. K. and Choe, E. H. 1992. Support exchange patterns of the elderly in Korea. Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 7, 3, 89–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koh, E.-K. and Koh, C.-K. 2008. Caring for older adults: the parables in Confucian texts. Nursing Science Quarterly, 21, 4, 365–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
La Barbera, P. A. and Gürhan, Z. 1997. The role of materialism, religiosity, and demographics in subjective well-being. Psychology and Marketing, 14, 1, 71–97.3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, H. Y., Kim, S. A., Lee, H. J. and Jung, S. H. 2005. The relationship between socio-economic factors and self-rated health among older people. Korean Journal of Health Policy & Administration, 15, 2, 70–83. (In Korean)Google Scholar
Lee, S.-G. and Jeon, S.-Y. 2005. The relations of socioeconomic status to health status, health behaviours in the elderly. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 38, 2, 154–62. (In Korean)Google ScholarPubMed
Liang, J., Kahana, E. and Doherty, E. 1980. Financial well-being among the aged: a further elaboration. Journal of Gerontology, 35, 3, 409–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendes De Leon, C. R., Rapp, S. S. and Kasl, S. V. 1994. Financial strain and symptoms of depression in a community sample of elderly men and women: a longitudinal study. Journal of Aging and Health, 6, 4, 448–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michaud, P.-C. and van Soest, A. 2008. Health and wealth of elderly couples: causality tests using dynamic panel data models. Journal of Health Economics, 27, 13, 1312–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myers, D. G. 2000. The funds, friends and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, 55, 1, 56–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, B.-H., Jung, M. and Lee, T.-J. 2009. Associations of income and wealth with health status in the Korean elderly. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 42, 5, 275–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reinhardt, U. E. 2001. The United States health-care system: recent history and prospects. Paper presented to the International Symposium on Health Care Policy, 9–11 October, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Schieman, S., Van Gundy, K. and Taylor, J. 2001. Status, role, and resource explanations for age patterns in psychological distress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 1, 80–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shuey, K. M. and O'Rand, A. M. 2006. Changing demographics and new pension risks. Research on Aging, 28, 3, 317–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J. P. 1999. Healthy bodies and thick wallets: the dual relation between health and economic status. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13, 2, 145–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sun, F., Hilgeman, M. M., Durkin, D. W., Allen, R. S. and Burgio, L. D. 2009. Perceived income inadequacy as a predictor of psychological distress in Alzheimer's caregivers. Psychology and Aging, 24, 1, 177–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Szanton, S. L., Allen, J. K., Thorpe, R. J., Seeman, T., Bandeen-Roche, K. and Fried, L. P. 2008. Effect of financial strain on mortality in community-dwelling older women. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63B, 6, S369–S374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2009. Human Development Report 2009; Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK.Google Scholar
Yoon, H. and Cha, H.-B. 1999. Future issues for family care of the elderly in Korea. Hallym International Journal of Aging, 1, 1, 78–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yun, J.-W. 2010. The myth of Confucian capitalism in South Korea: overworked elderly and underworked youth. Pacific Affairs, 83, 2, 237–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar