Preparing for an Aging World The Case for Cross-National Research (2001) / Chapter Skim
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1. Introduction
1. Introduction
Pages 15-29
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From page 15... ...
Longterm trends toward lowered fertility and improved health and longevity have generated growing proportions and numbers of older population throughout most of the world. Fertility decline and urbanization arguably were the dominant global demographic trends during the second 15
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From page 16... ...
Policies to address changing worker/retiree ratios, for example, must be informed not only by demographic considerations, but also by examination of incentive structures for retirement, the changing health profile of older workers, and an understanding of household decision making with regard to work and retirement patterns. Planning for an aging society thus requires innovative research programs that can yield data on interrelated domains of life, a theme to which we return below and throughout this report.
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From page 17... ...
Yet there may be a structural lag in attitudes, policies, and practices regarding older persons (Riley et al., 1999~. One policy challenge is to recast aging populations as a natural resource rather than a societal drain, and to exploit opportunities to use these growing reservoirs of human capital.
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From page 18... ...
The highlighting of differences among nations raises questions about whether national trends are unique and culture-specific or more universal and more fundamental to the human aging process. Comparisons prompt researchers and policy makers to reevaluate existing data, help them identify best practices for similar programs, and facilitate consideration of appropriate interventions.
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From page 19... ...
This simple dichotomy ignores the fact that while levels of elderly-child coresidence are much lower in the West than elsewhere, considerable contact, exchange, and personal care assistance takes place between parents and children. Similarly, variations in the cost of public pension systems and in labor force participation rates across industrialized nations often go unmentioned in sweeping pronouncements about the implications of aging for social security coffers.
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From page 20... ...
In any case, an obvious strategy is for countries to coordinate their research on population aging in order to cross-fertilize the scientific knowledge base and to obtain maximum leverage from relatively modest public investments. Another way to envision the advantages of cross-national research is to consider policy evaluation.
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From page 21... ...
Each of these challenges represents a major undertaking. Recent decades have seen heightened sensitivity to and substantial technical advances in the validation of measures in different cultural settings, yet many problems remain.
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From page 22... ...
· To review existing sources of socioeconomic, demographic, and health data on aging populations and to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of current international data collection efforts for addressing the priorities of various countries in aging research. · To outline data collection efforts that, if undertaken internationally, would advance understanding of the aging process around the world.
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From page 23... ...
Population Division recently convened a technical meeting on the living arrangements of older persons. Increasing attention also is being given to macroeconomic effects that may accompany shifting population age structures (see, for example, Peterson, 1999; MacKellar, 2000~.
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From page 24... ...
For example, a detailed inventory of stock market holdings, private retirement annuities, fungible wealth, and so on may be crucial to understanding the well-being of older persons in highly industrialized nations, but may be much less important if not irrelevant in predominantly agricultural societies. The terms "developed" and "developing" are still used when grouping countries and making broad generalizations about modernization and economic development, but these categories are increasingly antiquated and may be misleading.
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From page 25... ...
. National policies and laws governing privacy and access to data vary widely and represent significant potential obstacles to comparative research on aging.
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From page 26... ...
ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT The following chapter reviews the current and projected demographic dimensions of population aging in the global context, with emphasis on the dynamics and worldwide variability of the process. Attention is given to changes in mortality and morbidity and the especially rapid growth of the oldest portions of elderly populations, changes that are likely to have pronounced ramifications for future policy development.
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From page 27... ...
In Chapter 5, the text moves to a discussion of family structure and intergenerational transfers, noting that the well-being of older persons depends to a great extent on the content and volume of an intricate set of transfer systems in which they are engaged throughout their lives. The mix of transfer programs and their salience varies considerably between the more and less developed economies and within each group as well.
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From page 28... ...
Recent research in these areas has proceeded along various lines, and the chapter suggests a need for integration of at least five conceptual levels of well-being: external conditions, subjective well-being, persistent mood level, transient emotional states, and the biochemical/neural basis of behavior. The distinction between stocks and flows is offered as a promising basis for resolving the differences among concepts and measurements.
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From page 29... ...
Journal of Economic Perspectives 13:145-166. United Nations 2000 United Nations Technical Meeting on Population Aging and Living Arrangements of Older Americans.
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