Research Data Centres: Social and economic aspects of aging

Five papers, conducted under the Research Data Centres program, have been published in the current supplemental issue of the Canadian Journal on Aging. All five studies examine various social and economic aspects of aging in Canada.

"Geographic dimensions of aging in Canada, 1991 to 2001" compares the proportion of Canadians over the age of 65 between provinces and among Canada's 25 largest cities. The study shows that for many regions, the proportion of older Canadians is increasing.

Regional differences in the proportion of Canadians over the age of 65 are becoming increasing influenced by net migration. The out-migration of young people from such cities as Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Chicoutimi and Trois-Rivières has resulted in increases in the proportion of older Canadians in these cities. In Toronto and Vancouver, the in-migration of people under the age of 65 continues to keep the proportion of older Canadians below the national average.

"Healthy aging at older ages: Are income and education important?" found that socio-economic factors, such as income and education, are associated with changes in health status. Canadians over the age of 50 in good health, with higher incomes and higher levels of education, are less likely to see their health deteriorate over a two-year period, in comparison to those with similar health status, but lower incomes or less education.

"The economic legacy of divorce and separation for women in old age" shows that separated and divorced individuals are the poorest of all older unattached women in Canada.

"A life course perspective on the relationship between socio-economic status and health: Testing the divergence hypothesis" and "Life cycle theory and the residential mobility of older Canadians" are also featured in the Canadian Journal on Aging.

These five papers used the National Population Health Survey, the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics or Census of the Population as their data sources. They are available in English only. The analyses for these projects were conducted in the secure environments of the Research Data Centres at McMaster University and University of Toronto.

The Research Data Centres program is part of an initiative by Statistics Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and university consortia to help strengthen Canada's social research capacity and to support the policy research community. There are currently 11 centres operating at various universities across the country.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 3225, 3236, 3889 and 3901.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of these articles, contact Dr. Byron G. Spencer, (905-525-9140, ext. 24594), Department of Economics, McMaster University.

The articles and journal are available from the University of Toronto Press. For more information, contact Emma Scratch (416-667-7849).

For more information about the Research Data Centre program, contact Gustave Goldmann (613-951-1472), Research Data Centre program.