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Grand Challenges of Our Aging Society Workshop Summary (2010) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
Pages 1-4

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From page 1...
... What global interconnections will affect how each society handles the aging of its population? GRAND CHALLENGES OF OuR AGING SOCIETY To address these questions, the National Academies organized a symposium called "The Grand Challenges of Our Aging Society," held in Washington, DC, on May 28-29, 2009.
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From page 2...
... The second panel concerned the steps that individuals and society can take to enhance healthy aging, ranging from healthy behaviors to new technologies. The next two panels addressed economic issues, including macroeconomic effects of aging populations and concerns about income security and health care financing.
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From page 3...
... Earnings also peak later in rich countries, presumably reflecting returns to experience for workers with more human capital. The drop in labor income is far more precipitous as people retire in rich countries, while labor income continues at older ages in poor countries.
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From page 4...
... Trends of aging populations, such as increased old-age dependency ratios, longer life spans and health spans but shorter work lives, and increased consumption despite lower labor income among older persons, are not necessarily troublesome. Yet Lee commented, "It's hard to avoid worrying that we may just be stumbling into these patterns rather than making informed decisions about how to organize allocation of resources across age." Public allocations for pensions, health care, and long-term care may be influenced by institutions and programs that were created and shaped in very different historical periods, with very different age profiles, median retirement ages, and consumption patterns.
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Key Terms

  • rich countries
  • poor countries
  • grand challenges
  • aging populations
  • aging society

  • labor income
  • aging population
  • private health
  • age profile
  • dependency ratios

  • industrialized nations
  • healthy aging
  • increased consumption
  • consumption despite
  • median age

  • lower labor
  • labor force
  • consumption patterns
  • individual aging
  • rapid population

  • consumption expenditures
  • industrialized world
  • health expendi
  • health spans
  • increasing private

  • retirement age
  • rising consumption
  • compare rich
  • consumption continues
  • health expenditures


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