AGING

Aging

Broad Policy Areas: Aging

Effects of aging

Aging has a profound effect on society and should receive more attention increasingly mentioned by the makers of policy in the 21st century. Increased life expectancy and reduced fertility factors are the crucial drivers of demographic transition. Globally, life expectancy rose from 47 years in 1950-1955 to 65 in 2000-2005, and is expected to reach 75 years in 2045 - 2050. In the period between 1950-1955 and 2000-2005, total fertility fell 5.0 to 2.6 children per woman and is expected to continue falling until reaching 2.0 children per woman in 2045-2050.

Three issues

The demographic transition has three stages. Specifically on the example given region, North America, the United States, may be considered one of the options for subsidizing biomedical research on aging. In the first stage, the age distribution is revitalized as the proportion of children as a result of increased survival in the early years. The second reason is the result of reductions in the fertility. Fertility is the proportion of children which is beginning to decline as the age of adults is increasing. The third reason usually comes after a long period of decline death rate and birth rate. The age of the children and adults increases, that causes the proportion of population to increase. Working population also increases. This period is long enough to have long-term effects on the country and her economy. During the third stage, the rapid aging of the population may raise problems for public policy because significant adjustments are needed various fields to address the reduction of the workforce and increased demand in the areas of health care and support for older people (Gelfand, 1999).

Age in a competitive society

One of the major challenges for the elderly in the United States is represented by the balance between social withdrawal ...