Building a good-neighbourly relationship: The impact of neighbourhood social capital on the subjective well-being of migrant elderly in China

Abstract

In recent years, the continuously increasing number of migrant elderly has posed a huge challenge to China's implementation of an active ageing strategy. This study focuses on the subjective well-being of migrant elderly and explores the impact and mechanism of neighborhood social capital on it, which is an important issue that few studies have examined. Using data from the China Labour-force Dynamics Survey and statistical models, the results show that neighbourhood social capital composed of neighbourhood familiarity, trust, and mutual assistance has a significant positive impact on subjective well-being after controlling for various variables. However, this positive effect is stronger among low-educated and female migrant elderly. From two perspectives including resource provision and psychological process, local social support and social integration are the main mediating mechanisms connecting the relationship between neighbourhood social capital and subjective well-being. The policy implication of the above results is how to reasonably guide guide the community to develop social capital, which is a new and key goal to improve the quality of life of migrant elderly.