1. 1 When I’m 104: The Determinants of Healthy Longevity Among the Oldest-Old in China Dennis A. Ahlburg Carlson School of Management University of Minnesota USA Eric Jensen Department of Economics College of William and Mary USA Ruyan Liao Carlson School of Management University of Minnesota USA

2. 2 Aims:  Analysis of different Health Measures.  Analysis of determinants of health.

3. 3 “defining health is a daunting task’’ (Miller, 2001) “[health status] reduces to a single statistic or two only with great difficulty.” (Murray, 2000)

4. 4 Measures Used:  Self-reported health (bad, so-so, good, very-good)  Disease status (severe = two or more conditions, mild = one condition, well = no chronic conditions)  ADL status (severely disabled = 3 or more ADL, mildly disabled = 1 or 2 ADL, Active = no ADL)  Self-reported quality of life (bad, so-so, good, very- good)  Interviewer rating (very ill, moderately ill, relatively healthy, surprisingly healthy)  Illness (bedridden, some serious illness, no illness)

5. 5 Table 1: Distribution of Health Measures

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8. 8  Are these measures reliable?  Are they valid?

9. 9 Self-reported health :  Related to objective measures  Is a good predictor of mortality  Not related to ADL’s  Not comparable across individuals Measurement error in most measures Measures may be endogenous

10. 10 Table 2: Correlation Matrix and the Factor Analysis of the Six Health Measures Correlation Matrix ADL statusDiseasesSelf healthSelf q-o-lIntrvr healthillness ADL status1.0000 Diseases0.1956**1.0000 Self health0.2541**0.1892**1.0000 Self q-o-l0.0285**0.00380.4283**1.0000 Intrvr health0.5393**0.2627**0.4244**0.1829**1.0000 Illness0.2927**0.1537**0.1599**0.0368**0.3696**1.0000 Note: ** means significant at 1% level. Are the measures related?

11. 11 Table 2 cont: Correlation Matrix and the Factor Analysis of the Six Health Measures (Principal factors; 2 factors retained) FactorEigenvalueDifferenceProportionCumulative 11.482851.073631.0836 20.409230.421650.29901.3826 3-0.012430.04821-0.00911.3735 4-0.060640.14947-0.04431.3292 5-0.210110.03031-0.15351.1757 60.24042-0.17571.0000

12. 12 Factor loadings 12uniqueness ADL status0.54147-0.250180.64 Disease Status0.32-0.130.88 Self-reported health0.600.300.55 Self-reported quality of life0.320.440.70 Interviewer health rating0.70-0.110.49 Illnesses0.36-0.170.84

13. 13 No single factor “health” So, correlations are low…

14. 14 What determines health?  Work: type, duartion  Childhood: SES, health, healthcare, parity  Demography: age, sex, marriage, parents  Geography: region of birth, urban/rural  Human capital: education  Lifestyle: smoke, drink, exercise  Personality

15. 15 Results  Physical labor: positive ADL, self-report, interviewer.  Health of farmers (ADL, disease, illness) better.  Healthcare in childhood is very important.  Children of farmers have better health (ADL, disease).  Age negative on ADL, but positive on quality of life.  Males positive except on quality of life.  Education positive on self-reported health.  “Good” marriage → + self-reported health.  Smoking, drinking are not related to health.  Exercise associated with better health.  A positive personality makes you healthier.

16. 16 Conclusions  Health is a multidimensional concept  Modest support for impact of work on health  Childhood has effects on health at advanced ages  Exercise, a positive outlook, and a happy marriage make you healthier!