The dramatic increase in life expectancy in the United States and all other developed nations in the 20th century is one of the greatest cultural and scientific advances in our history. Yet, we are woefully unprepared to address the challenges–such as potential conflicts aggravated by generational differences–and take advantage of the opportunities–unleashing the productivity inherent in a healthy elderly population, for example–that stand before us.
References
1.
DanaGoldmanJaopingShangJayantaBhattacharyaAlanM. GarberMichaelHurdGeoffreyF. JoyceDariusN. LakdawallaConstantijnPanisPaulG. Shekelle. “Consequences of health trends and medical innovation for the future elderly”, Health Affairs (2005) 24Suppl 2: W5-R5-W5-R17. Examines how medical technology and declining health in younger generations affect the future health and medical spending of the elderly.
2.
RobertB. Hudson, ed. Boomer Bust? Economic and Political Issues of the Graying Society (Vol. 1) and The Boomer and Their Future (Praeger, 2008). Provide dozens of perspectives from a multidisciplinary roster of authors on the implication of becoming an aging society.
3.
KennethMantonLarryCorderEricStallard. “Chronic disability trends in elderly United States populations: 1982–1994,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (1997) 94:2593–2598. Examines trends in the functional status of older generations.
4.
LindaMartinVickiFreedmanRobertSchoeniPatriciaAndrewski. “Health and functioning among baby boomers approaching 60”, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences (2009) 64B(3): 369–377. Recent evidence that the decades-long declines in disability rates in older people may be waning.
5.
JamesH. SchulzRobertH. Binstock.Aging Nation: The Economics and Politics of Growing Older in America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). Presents the arguments for and against the likelihood of “intergenerational warfare,” proposing an alternative “family-based” perspective on entitlements.
