농촌노인의 경제활동 및 욕구실태에 관한 조사연구

Abstract

An increase in the elderly population in rural areas results in a decrease in rural income due to the hike of labor cost resulting from the lack of labor pool. In this context, this study aims at exploring the rural elderly's economic activities. It also provides basic data for program development to promote economic activities, which is specialized in productive activities taken into account of needs of old farmers. A survey questionnaire was administered with the 881 elderly over 60 years old who live in 11 rural villages appointed by the government as 'special villages for the rural elderly.' Face to face interview was carried out by professional interviewers. Descriptive analysis and χ² test were done using SPSS WIN 10.0. The research result was as follows: a) Perceived economic status of the rural elderly was no good. The sixty-one percents of the respondents earned their annual income of less than 4,800 U.S. dollars in average. It was far less than 10,000 U.S. dollars, the annual average household income of the total rural households; b) About the sixty-four percents of the rural elderly were currently engaged in farming. Experience and willingness to participate in the second jobs or other economic activities other than the farming differed by the age groups. It was highest among the age group of the sixties; c) Recycling coordinator job was best for the rural elderly regardless of the sex. Finally, the female elderly was less prepared for their retirement than the male, while the single elderly, the elderly with their spouse or family.