Population ageing and intergenerational relations

This paper explores how long-term trends in demographic ageing shape interdependencies between generations. Our aim is to map changes in generational structure of the population in Europe and its major regions since the mid-20th century, and based on demographic projections, to cast light on the future developments until the end the of the 21st century. The data for the study are extracted from the database of UN Population Division. The paper builds on analytical approach developed by Golini and Iacoucucci who derived a series of intergenerational dependency and support measures from the age structure of the population. The results show a marked increase in the „height“ and top-heaviness of the generational structure. Particularly large increases in the relative size of older and middle-aged generations lend support to the notion that multigenerational ties sharply increase their importance as the structure of the population adjusts to longer lives and low fertility. The analysis reveals diverse outcomes for the younger and middle-age adults who provide the bulk of intergenerational support. In medium-term, the shift towards vertically extended and increasingly top-heavy generational structure will persist, irrespective of the projection scenario. With regard more distant future, the path of fertility trends appears crucial.

Using the first wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing, KLoSA), a nationwide representative study of middle/old-aged population in 2006, we examines (1) how the young adults and their parents exchange economic resources in Korean and (2) whether the above two theories explain economic exchange behaviors. Our sample consists of 1,067 parents who have 1,392 single children who finish formal education, live independently and from 19 to 39 years old. We find that 12.6% of the parents provide an average of 4,593,000 won (=$4,130) to young adult children during the last year. And we find that 35.2% of young adult children provide an average of 1,674,000 won (=$1,505) to parents. Contrary to the dominance of downward transfers in developed countries between young adult children and their old parents, many children help old parents economically in Korea. Tobit models of downward and upward transfers indicate that parents with more economic resources and home ownership and children with higher education levels and out of work are more likely to participate in downward transfers and that parents in economic need and with health problems and children who are older and earn money are more likely to participate in upward transfers.

Population growth and an increasingly youthful age structure have characterized the largest part of history; whereas the deceleration of population growth and an aging population are relatively recent phenomena. Experiences how countries are able to cope with, and address an aging population are relatively limited, and fear of an aging population and associated economic and social consequences are perhaps understandingly widespread. The fears of an aging population are by and large related to economic challenges. Will population aging negatively affect economic output and lead to deflation? Can they pay adequate pensions? Can they cope with rising health care expenditures? Will policy responses inevitably place a burden on the elderly or the younger generations? This paper argues that the fear of population aging is often based on a partial economic analysis, which focuses on the level of households, and that the challenges are considerably less daunting if viewed from a macroeconomic perspective. In most countries it the establishment of functioning pension systems and the provision of social protection is a question of political consensus rather than economic capacity. However, some countries, especially the world's least developed, confront t challenges.

The aims of the study are to analyze the older person characteristics and social protection for elderly in Indonesia. Using the quantitative data from 2010 NSES, and 2010 Indonesian Population Census. Total sample of 2010 was 88,210 elderly; there were 46.6% male and 53.4% female older person. In their family, they have been living as a head household (57.5%) and 21.2% as a parents/in-laws. The highest percentage of older person marital status was married (83%) and 60% of female older person was widows. Education level still low, 57% of older person was under secondary school. Around 73 percent of the elderly still work. Only 1.4% elderly have public health insurance, and less than 1% for a health card and poor letter (SKTM). Meanwhile the social security still not yet establish, only from Ministry of Social Affair have provided the social assistance for the older poor and bed ridden (13,500 persons). They receive around 300 thousand rupiahs per month.
Until now, the level of education, income and health of elderly still low. They reached old before rich. While the government has not been able to provide social security for all elderly, only less than one percent of poor older person receive their social assistance.

In Bangladesh because of increasing life expectancy and falling fertility elderly population has been increasing. . The population projection data show that depending upon the achievement of replacement fertility by 2025 one in 10 persons will be elderly and by 2050 one in 5 persons will be elderly. Bangladesh will face many constraints in managing the challenges for large elderly population. This includes factors such as changing family structure, poverty, social and cultural norms, and inadequate health care facilities for the elderly population. This paper investigates increase longevity and decline in fertility are combining to convert the population age structure from young to old. This situation has implications on the family health care of the older persons and unmet need of health care services in the public sector. The support index shows that there will be fewer persons to support elderly population in future with implications in traditional family care.

Regional differences in dependency ratios are often referred to as a potential problem in aging societies. The need for formal care is potentially higher if the informal care is scarce, and in regions where few elderly have a local family network, pressure increases on support from public sector. Geographical distance between family members is the result of accumulated migration and non-migration in all generations in different phases of life, resulting in staying close, moving away or moving closer to family members. The focus of this study is the regional differences in proximity between family members and the demographic processes that produce geographic variation in elderly people’s access to local family networks. The study is based on a quantitative analysis of register data and utilizes the unique opportunity that is available in the Swedish population registers to link individuals to their family networks, place of residence and workplace.

Living arrangements are changing rapidly in China due to the increasing urbanization of the population, the replacement of hutong (courtyard) housing stock with high rise apartments in urban areas, and massive rural-to-urban migration. The result is that it is increasingly unlikely that elderly parents live with their adult children. On the other hand, many urban parents send their children to live with the grandparents, resulting in a new form of multiple generation family, known in China as a “generation-skipping” family. We study the living arrangements and consequences for emotional well-being of the elderly using data from a national probability sample survey conducted in 2010, the Chinese Family Panel Study (14,960 households were included and every family member age 10 and over was interviewed, with information for younger children provided by parents or other adult family members). This sample includes 7,040 people age 60+; this is the group we will study.