This study examines the well-being of older people in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) using microlevel data.
It focuses on depressive symptom scales and the impact of demographic, economic, social, and health factors. Although much of the differences of the results across the three countries is due to the differences in the characteristics of older people, significant unexplained differences remain. In particular, even after accounting for several factors, older people in the ROK are more likely to be depressed than in the PRC or Japan.