By The Bank of Korea The Republic of Korea is aging rapidly, as the average woman in her childbearing years gives birth to only 1.17 children ─ among the world’s lowest numbers as of 2016 ─ while people are also living longer. The country is projected to enter into the status of an aged society from 2018, with a share of the elderly in its population of 14.3%, and to become a super-aged society with a share of 20% in...
By Katja Bender, Markus Kaltenborn, Christian Pfleiderer Providing universal access to social protection and health systems for all members of society, including the poor and vulnerable, is increasingly considered crucial to international development debates. This is the first book to explore from an interdisciplinary and global perspective the reforms of social protection systems introduced in recent years by many governments of low and middle-income countries. Although a growing body of literature has been concerned with the design and impact of social...
By Truman G Packard, Johannes Koettl, Claudio Montenegro What to do about the extent of unregulated informal employment and the size of the shadow economy is a dilemma that has been gaining urgency, particularly in Europe's periphery. The forces that accompany globalization put a premium on mobility and skill-renewal. Rapid population ageing will require that people work longer and be far more productive. To achieve this, social and economic institutions have to be more pro-employment, encouraging greater participation in the...
By Joelle Saad-Lessler (The New School for Social Research), Teresa Ghilarducci (Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA); The New School for Social Research), Gayle Reznik (U.S. Social Security Administration) Changes in accumulated retirement savings, particularly in employer-sponsored defined contribution (DC) plan balances, differ by worker’s earnings levels. Earnings shocks, portfolio diversification, and employer contributions to worker’s DC plans affect retirement savings for lower earners more than for higher earners. The authors match Survey of Income and Program Participation data...
By Gilles Maignant, Pascal Staccini Statistical, Mapping and Digital Approaches in Healthcare addresses all health territories, starting from the analysis of geographical data (health data, population data, health data systems and environmental data), to new health areas (Health 3.0), i.e. digital health territories. Specific tools are used to question environmental changes, such as health statistics, mapping, mathematical models, optimization models and serious games. Uniquely combines the approaches of mathematicians, geographers and physician to the analysis of health territories Presents views that...
By Yuanshan Cheng (Winthrop University), Philip Gibson (Winthrop University), Tao Guo (William Paterson University) Individuals are living longer due to the advancement of medical technology and nutrition quality. Are the elderly enjoying retirement in those extended years with good quality of life, or, are they simply alive? Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey (CAMS), this study contributes to the literature by presenting empirical evidence on how individuals spend time in...
By Piera Bello (University of Lugano) Vincenzo Galasso (University of Lugano; Centre for Economic Policy Research) Aging creates financial troubles for PAYG pension systems, since the share of retirees to workers increases. An often advocated policy response is to increase retirement age. Ironically, however, the political support for this policy may actually be hindered by population aging. Using Swiss administrative voting data at municipal level (and individual survey data) from pension reforms referenda, we show in fact that individuals close...
By Elana D. Buch The troubling dynamic of the American home care industry where increased independence for the elderly conflicts with the well being of caregivers Paid home care is one of the fastest growing occupations in the United States, and millions of Americans rely on these workers to help them remain at home as they grow older. However, the industry is rife with contradictions. The United States spends a fortune on medical care, yet devotes comparatively few resources on improving...
By Benjamin Hilgenstock (Institute of International Finance) & Zsoka Koczan (International Monetary Fund (IMF)) The paper examines the evolution and drivers of labor force participation in European regions, focusing on the effects of trade and technology. As in the United States, rural regions within European countries saw more pronounced declines (or smaller increases) in participation than urban regions. Unlike in the United States, however, trade and technology, captured here using novel measures of initial exposures to routinization and offshoring, did...
By por Jonathan Gruber , David A. Wise Many countries have social security systems that are currently financially unsustainable. Economists and policy makers have long studied this problem and identified two key causes. First, as declining birth rates raise the share of older persons in the population, the ratio of retirees to benefits-paying employees increases. Second, as falling mortality rates increase lifespans, retirees receive benefits for longer than in the past. Further exacerbating the situation, the provisions of social security...
