The economics of population ageing

An analysis of Argentine and Brazilian old-age occupied people is proposed on the basis of the household surveys from 2011. For that purpose, the process of demographic ageing in both countries will be described. Some concepts related to the labour participation of old-age adults in Latin America and in the two countries subject of study will be reviewed afterwards. The focus will also be put on the relationship between the level of social security coverage and the old-age labour participation, to characterize immediately after the occupied old-age adults living in both countries.
The structure of employment of old-age adults in Argentina was clearly polarized. People with a lower education level were engaged in occupations such as construction, domestic service, care and attention of persons, industrial and handicraft production, repair and surveillance activities. On the other hand, workers with a higher education level, were engaged in occupations such as education, health, small and middle companies, administration, planning and commercialization. In Brazil, a higher concentration can be observed in less qualified occupations, and a predominance of service workers, textile industry, graphic industry, agriculture and cattle raising, sales and trade workers.

Coping with aging populations is a challenge for most developed countries. The support of non-working adults can create an unsustainable burden on those working. One way of dealing with this is to raise the normal pension age, but this has proven to be unpopular. A complementary approach is to raise the average labor force participation rate. These policies are generally more politically palatable. We conceptualized and estimated, for the first time, the tradeoff between pension age and labor force participation rate policies and show that, in most European countries, a difference in policies that results in an increase in labor force participation rates by an additional one to two percentage points by 2050 can substitute for a one year increase in the normal pension age.

The proportion of adults reaching 60 in Latin America is expected to grow quickly. Cuba and Puerto Rico are good examples. San Juan and Havana have a substantial fraction of people above age 60. The objective of this paper is to study inequalities in health in two cities: San Juan, Puerto Rico and Havana, Cuba. This research is based on data from PREHCO (Puerto Rican Elderly Health Conditions) and SABE (Health, Well-being and Aging in Latin America) . A socioeconomic index was calculated for Puerto Rico based on six dimensions: assets, household equipment, household ownership, per capita income, financial debts and health insurance; the index for Cuba was based on five dimensions per capita income, household infrastructure, household equipment, education and neighborhood environment. Using k-medians clustering the elderly population was grouped in three clusters: low, medium and high. Important differences by sex, age and certain health conditions were found between older adults in San Juan and Havana.

Given the recent fast changes in population age structure in Brazil and Argentina, translated in aging populations, increasing longevity with improving quality of life of the elderly and considering the maintenance of the levels of their labor force participation rates, our goal is to discuss trends and some consequences of the growth in the share of elderly in the labor supply in these countries. We analyze the differences in the patterns of participation of the elderly population considering gender, age and education. We also address the labour participation patterns in terms of types of occupations, trying to identify niches that enable continued employment, in contexts of high unemployment, job insecurity, technological changes and improvements in the education of younger workers.
This paper proposes to address the problem of occupational segregation of Argentine and Brazilian men and women aged 60 and over who remained in the labor force using household surveys data for 2011 in both countries . The estimation of the level of occupational segregation will take place from the overall association index under a saturated log-linear model and using the square root segregation index proposed by Hutchens (2004).

This paper investigates intra and inter cohort differences in private pension contributions, examining the extent of variation associated with key socio-demographic characteristics including gender, marital status and educational attainment. Using data from the Family Resources Survey from 1999-2000, 2004-2005 and 2009-2010 to understand these trends, this study aims to assess the extent to which the current and proposed changes to the legislative framework will address the particular circumstances of those most likely to be at risk of financial under-provision at old age. Initial findings from bivariate analysis using age, period and cohort perspectives indicate a downward trend in private pension participation by men, within and across cohorts over time. Women, in contrast, have maintained similar levels of contribution rates during the period under investigation. There are notable variations between men and women depending on their marital statuses, with single individuals across all cohorts less likely to make private pension contributions, even as they approach old age. For both men and women, later exit from education is associated with a higher incidence of private pension contributions, although over the period of investigation, there is a fall in the levels of men making private pension contribution.

In this paper, the author used a Predator-Prey Model to study how the
pension reform in China(increasing the integrated level of pension system) can influence the relationship between governments and working individuals. We separate governments as central government and local governments. The central government play a role of intelligent designer while the local governments play as predator and the working individuals are considered to be preys. We find that to increase the level of integrate of the pension system is not only necessary to build a solid social security, but also to accelerate the economy. While during the
reform, a destabilization may happen and require extra attention.

India being at the stage of demographic and development transition is faced with challenges of reaping the advantage of demographic dividend and provide an economically secured life to its older population. The joint family system, a unique feature of our glorious heritage is disintegrating fast making elderly economically and socially vulnerable. The present study aims at critical assessment of government old age plans and policies using Meta analysis. The study reflected the existence of old age plans and policies since decades which have been revised appropriately to take care of the inflation. Policies such as NPOP, OASIS etc have been framed keeping in mind the vulnerable sections such as widows, destitute, unorganized workers but the question arises whether the amount of help offered is sufficient for them. The study reflected that government efforts have indeed brought a difference to their lives but assuming their full fledged responsibility is difficult. Pension is one of the largest components of state expenditures which is likely to increase making it unsustainable in long run. Therefore, individuals should be encouraged to contribute towards a self financed old age income security to ensure a life of dignity though not of luxury in old age

With the ageing of the population, countries face challenges, particularly with regard to long term care. Caring for disabled elderly entails both public and private costs that amount to billions of euro per year. But the value of informal care is often missing. The aim of the study is to assess the cost of informal care provided to people aged 75 years and over, applying the contingent valuation method. Data from a French survey on informal caregivers are used. A two-step model à la Heckman is implemented in order to both analyze factors associated with the reported amount of willingness to pay for an extra-hour of care, and reasons why some informal caregivers did not give a value (protest respondents). Results are enhanced with findings from a qualitative survey. Age, proximity, mental health seem convey the need for informal caregivers to be recognized, as well as their need for respite due to the burden they bear. Socioeconomic factors are also important: the higher informal caregiver’s and care recipient’s income is, the higher the reported amount is. These elements could be useful to public policies which try to develop measures that both promote and relieve informal care provided to the elderly.

This paper examines the impact of the 1994 pension reform in Sweden on the old worker’s transition into retirement measured by the rate of increase in leisure over age 60-65. The analysis is based on the longitudinal data constructed by linking individuals from Swedish Income Register 1970-2010 and Population and Housing Census. The empirical model is derived from neoclassical lifecycle model, and stresses on the effects of asset income and expectation of future wage and pension benefits on the retirement transition. In addition, the gender and educational differences are examined.

I analyze in this article differences by age and time of the components of the life-cycle deficit; namely, labor income and consumption. I use the specific case of Mexico, where no panel data is available for longitudinal analysis, but repeated cross-sectional survey data is used to construct age profiles of these variables by age for a period from 1992 to 2010. The age profiles where constructed following the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) methodology. Given this information, I try to answer the following questions. How bigger are the differences in the age pattern of consumption and labor income over time? Which part of those differences can be explained by policy issues, quality of data, period, and cohort effects? I apply an age-period-cohort (APC) analysis, using a random effects hierarchical APC model specification to explore in more detail possible answers to these questions.