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Based on a framework developed by the World Health Organization, we construct an individual-level percentage measure of healthy and active ageing employing the results of a unique survey of ten thousand elderly Korean respondents conducted in 2020 and relate its values to the senior respondent's physical, lifestyle, and socio-economic characteristics. We find that the median value of our healthy and active ageing index is approximately 40%, suggesting significant room for improvement. An important role in interpreting our empirical results is played by the apparent role of Korea's senior employment as a means of "making ends meet" rather than a way of improving the quality of one's ageing, suggesting an important direction for government policy development. Our results underscore the importance of promoting higher-quality employment opportunities for senior citizens as opposed to creating these opportunities per se. This appears especially important given the fast pace of Korea's ageing.
Repkine et al. (Wed,) studied this question.