In the wake of China's economic reforms, fast-paced urbanization, huge waves of rural-to-urban migration and the one-child policy have all contributed to an unprecedented growth in the elderly population. This has led to a corresponding rise in older people living in communities, often without adult children in the same household.

To respond to the growing needs of the elderly population, social services in China have undergone significant changes. The community, instead of the government, has increasingly become the main venue for the development and implementation of services. It has been argued that such a transition could help bring about change by building long-desired community autonomy. However, there was also a worry that services might not be equally available across different communities, and that they would be subject to the capacity of the locality to assemble a service infrastructure.

In our study of different communities we used the 2008 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study survey. Respondents included 2,685 individuals in 1,570 households, from 96 communities in rural and urban areas of the Zhejiang and Gansu provinces. We identified three distinct types of community with different characteristics.

The first type of communities show a high level of autonomy in developing general service programs, such as cultural activities and mutual support. They are usually located in urban areas with a high accessibility of public facilities and active business sectors. The proportion of people over 60 years of age is small, whereas the education level of the community leadership is high.

Type two have demonstrated a capacity for providing services mainly for older people, including exercise facilities, activity centres and nursing homes. One in four residents is over 60 years of age, and the majority of these areas are rural. There is adequate accessibility to public service, with somewhat active business sectors.

The third and final type of communities have shown a low level of autonomy in developing service facilities and programs. However, they are highly motivated in initiating community health care clinics. Almost all are located in rural areas, having the least accessibility of public services and few active business sectors.

So neighbourhood communities in China where older people live differed considerably in the availability of social services. Community autonomy to initiate programs, develop facilities and deliver services to meet older people's needs is not just dependent on the demographic of the older population. While social, cultural and recreational facilities are generally available in urban communities where a smaller proportion of older people reside, the isolated rural areas with a larger older population prioritise their resources on essential services, such as health clinics and nursing homes.

Local communities do know best how to address the needs of their population. Nonetheless, essential resources for elderly care and social services still depend on the government. The difference in resources between communities, both in rural and urban areas, has increased inequality and affected older people's wellbeing. High levels of community autonomy are mainly found in resource-rich urban areas; this may give privileged access to resources, leading to a perpetuation of advantage or disadvantage based on locality.

The transformation of social service delivery in China should not distract from the adverse effects of broad, structural forces, which are much more likely to determine the resources and care of elderly populations. Community autonomy should be in the interests of older people to decide what services they need, and how they would like to have the services delivered. The government is still responsible for ensuring fair resource distribution for the wellbeing of their citizens, both for individuals and their communities.

Qingwen Xu is associate professor at the Tulane School of Social Work, and will be presenting the research at the Social Work and Social Development conference in Melbourne next month

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