Optimizing Elderly Care Resources Amidst an Aging Population: A Study on Spatial Misallocation and Pathways for Improvement

As China advances towards a modernization underpinned by a high-quality demographic development, it is confronted with the demographic reality of an aging population. Sichuan and Chongqing, being among the first regions in China to enter an aging society, are grappling with a critical issue of spatial misallocation of elderly care resources. This study leverages data from 16 urban units within the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle from 2010 to 2021, employing a comprehensive index model to evaluate the level of social elderly care resources.