Grand Challenges of Our Aging Society Workshop Summary (2010) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
6 Social Institutions and Policies
6 Social Institutions and Policies
Pages 41-46
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 41... ...
From the perspective of businesses, however, flexibility or "flexibi lization" can include contract work, temporary work, unpaid furloughs, layoffs, and forced retirements. This type of flexibilization, coupled with technological and global economic change, can result in rising demands on time, increased productivity expectations, and increased job and eco nomic insecurity for workers and families.
|
From page 42... ...
Addressing issues of aging and increased longevity, she questioned whether existing lagging policies and outdated institutions push people into retirement; limit their life planning; preclude encore activities in education, paid work, or civic engagement; and increase insecurity and uncertainty as well as health, isolation, and poverty risks. She further questioned whether the impacts of a global information economy combined with the new flexibilization of work will open or limit options for workers.
|
From page 43... ...
Moen posed two questions regarding structural leads: What organizations and agencies are introducing transformative flexible innovations in career paths, retirement options, education and training opportunities, and civic engagement? And what innovative policies regarding work time, retirement age, health care, education, and incomes would promote alternative and flexible paths and thus promote a better fit to changing life courses?
|
From page 44... ...
Matilda White Riley defined structural lag as "the inertial tendency of social structures to persist rather than respond to the changing needs and characteristics of individuals, creating a continuing tension between peo ple and the structures in which their lives are embedded." Considering structural lag as it concerns institutions and population aging, Burkhauser posed four questions: (1) Can society afford to grow old without changing current institutions and policies?
|
From page 45... ...
Burkhauser offered these as examples of "the unintended consequences of changing policies that we need to think more carefully about." He added, "when we set up our systems, when we think about our insti tutions, we have to think about incentives that those institutions set up for contracts between employers and employees." In identifying the most important questions in this area, Burkhauser asked: • hat are the behavioral and distributional consequences of raising W the Social Security early retirement age? • hat are the behavioral and distributional consequences of shift W ing to more prowork strategies for working-age people with disabilities?
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.