Living Longer: Ageing, Development and Social Protection

Accelerated population ageing, long a significant issue for developed countries, is now becoming important in the developing world too. Population ageing is one of the great achievements of the past century - although it brings its own social, economic, political and cultural challenges. The quality of life of older people is strongly conditioned by their capacity to manage opportunities and risks. Social protection, both formal and informal, can be critical. This book examines the links between well-being and development, drawing on examples from low, middle and high-income countries. It examines ageing in a number of very different development contexts - Argentina, Brazil, China, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, Ukraine, UK and USA. It highlights the complexity of relationships between development and the way later life is experienced, identifies key priorities for policy-makers, and maps out an urgent research agenda.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Ageing, development and social protection -generalisations, myths and stereotypes - Peter Lloyd-Sherlock Part I: Development trajectories, social change and well-being in later life Introduction 2. Long-term historical changes in the status of elders: Britain as an exemplar of advanced industrial economies - Paul Johnson 3. Social policy and the well-being of older people at a time of economic slowdown: The case of Brazil -- Ana Amlia Camarano Na Amélia Camarano 4. The impact of transition on older people in Ukraine: Looking to the future with hope - Vladislav V. Bezrukov and Natalia A. Foigt 5. Potential consequences of population ageing for social development in China - Du Peng and David R. Phillips Part II: Formal social protection and older people Introduction 6. Comparing pension schemes in Chile, Singapore, Brazil, and South Africa - Armando Barrientos 7. Ageing in Japan: An issue of social contract in welfare transfer or generational conflict? - Tetsuo Ogawa 8. Health policy and older people in Africa - Di McIntyre 9. Social health insurance for older people: A comparison of Argentina and the United States - Nélida Redondo Part III: Older people and the care economy Introduction 10. Intergenerational family support and old age economic security in Ghana - Isabella Aboderin 11. Ageing in Mexico: Families, informal care and reciprocity - Cristina Gomes da Conceiçäo and Veronica Montes de Oca Zavala 12. AIDS and older persons: The view from Thailand - John Knodel and Chanpen Aeng Tienchai 13. Care, dependency, and social justice: A challenge to conventional ideas of the social contract - Martha C. Nussbaum

About the Author :
Peter Lloyd-Sherlock is a Senior Lecturer in Social Development, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich. His publications include Old Age and Poverty in the Developing World (1997) and he is editor of Healthcare Reform and Poverty in Latin America (2000). Peter Lloyd-Sherlock is a Senior Lecturer in Social Development, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich. His publications include Old Age and Poverty in the Developing World (1997) and he is editor of Healthcare Reform and Poverty in Latin America (2000).

Review :
An impressive range of authors discuss the major issues raised by population ageing in less developed and transition countries. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the critical contemporary global topics of ageing and development and deserves to be read widely. In examining current knowledge on ageing and development, this important book challenges some pervasive stereotypes. The bases for believing that ageing populations are only a feature of the "developed world", and that growing numbers of older people will undermine existing systems of care and social protection, are questioned.