1. The Politics of Aging, Asian Style.
- Author
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Olson, Laura Katz
- Subjects
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AGING , *ELDER care , *MEDICAL care , *NURSING care facilities - Abstract
About three-fourths of the world?s population live in the Asian region. At the same time, these countries are, to varying degrees, facing rapid demographic aging, fostering a stark increase in the absolute number of older people as well as in their percentage of the population as a whole. By the end of the twenty-first century, slightly over fifty percent of the world?s population aged sixty and over, and nearly 40 percent of those aged eighty and over lived in Asian nations; this is projected to rise to 57 percent and 48 percent, respectively, over the next twenty years. This paper analyzes elder care in various Asian nations, focusing on the role of the state, cultural and religious values promoting filial obligation, and the place of non-governmental organizations; the availability and types of retirement systems, medical care, nursing homes and long-term care community services; and the impact of rapid economic growth and Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) on the needs of older people and their care givers. The paper also addresses the relationship between political institutions (i.e., type of regime, strength of parties, presence of interest groups and organized labor, etc.) and the emergence and nature of a nation?s social welfare provision. In addition, it discusses the gender-based dimensions of poverty and economic inequality among the aged in developing Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
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