Demography is not destiny, revisited
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Contributor(s):
- Friedland, Robert B. Summer, Laura. Commonwealth Fund.
- Publication:
- [New York, N.Y.] : Commonwealth Fund, [2005]
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Age Distribution Demography Public Policy Aged Aging Economics Forecasting Health Services Needs and Demand -- statistics & numerical data Health Status Policy Making Population Dynamics Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- This report provides a framework and some of the basic data necessary to understand why the future of the United States will not be determined solely by anticipated changes in the size and age distribution of the population. Choices made through the political process and through market forces, in conjunction with demographic changes, will determine the future, the authors say. The critical challenge of an aging society is not so much how to accommodate the older population, but how to ensure the productivity of future workers, regardless of age. Public policies that encourage and facilitate education, basic research, and the application of promising technologies can enhance the well-being of current and future generations of older people. Greater economic growth can make policy choices easier, but deciding how much of the proceeds of economic growth to use collectively and how to distribute costs and benefits will require political and policy choices.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101469669 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101469669