OUGD505 - Studio brief 02 - Research

Based on the introductory sessions of this module I have developed an idea to research into the issue of ageing, therefore from this point I need to have a contextual investigation into this specific subject.

When brainstorming potential issues to investigate I struggled at first as we were encouraged to relate this problem to ourself. A number social, political and ethical issues bother me but not necessarily affect me on a day to day basis at this moment in time. Therefore I found it hard to investigate issues to research further, until I remember watching a weird yet insightful Vice documentary about the Japanese love industry. The underlying message of the video is about how the population of Japan is ageing and is subsequently affecting social, political and economic issues. People aren't meeting anymore, neither getting married or having kids therefore Japan has the steepest declining population in the world. I found it interesting how ageing can be a problem not just in Japan but worldwide, so much so that Untied Nations has declared it as a global issue. Surely people living longer is a good thing so I decided to choose ageing as the issue I'd investigate for this brief.

Issue of Ageing overview
The entire world’s population is ageing with virtually every country in the world is experiencing growth in the number and proportion of older persons in their population. This a major achievement of modern science and healthcare, however increased life expectancy combined with declining birth rates have caused many to worry about the impact of an ageing population. In simpler terms an increase in longevity raises the average age of the population by increasing the numbers of surviving older people. But on the other hand a decline in fertility reduces the number of babies, and as the effect continues, the numbers of younger people in general also reduce. Therefore population will have a dramatic fall in many countries around the world.

The number of people aged 60 years and over has tripled since 1950, reaching 600 million in 2000 and surpassing 700 million in 2006. It is projected that the combined senior and geriatric population will reach 2.1 billion by 2050. Furthermore ageing is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, including labour and financial markets, the demand for goods and services, such as housing, transportation and social protection, as well as family structures and intergenerational ties.

Above is a chart showing the increased life expectancy in three of the biggest life expectancy countries.

I looked into the main impacts of a ageing world population, which include:

• Increase in the dependency ratio. If the retirement age remains fixed, and the life expectancy increases, there will be relatively more people claiming pension benefits and less people working and paying income taxes. The fear is that it will require high tax rates on the current, shrinking workforce.
• Increased government spending on health care and pensions. Also, those in retirement tend to pay lower income taxes because they are not working. This combination of higher spending commitments and lower tax revenue is a source of concern for Western governments – especially those with existing debt issues and unfunded pension schemes.
• Those in work may have to pay higher taxes. This could create disincentives to work and disincentives for firms to invest, therefore there could be a fall in productivity and growth.
• Shortage of workers. An ageing population could lead to a shortage of workers and hence push up wages causing wage inflation. Alternatively, firms may have to respond by encouraging more people to enter the workforce, through offering flexible working practices.
• Changing sectors within the economy. An increase in the numbers of retired people will create a bigger market for goods and services linked to older people (e.g. retirement homes)

The economic effects of an ageing population are considerable. Older people have higher accumulated savings per head than younger people, but spend less on consumer goods. Depending on the age ranges at which the changes occur, an ageing population may thus result in lower interest rates and the economic benefits of lower inflation. Also the demand for health care rises with age, countries with rapidly ageing populations must allocate more money and resources to their health care systems.

As populations continue to grow older, it is imperative that governments design innovative policies specifically targeted to the needs of older persons, including those addressing housing, employment, health care, social protection and other forms of intergenerational support.The need to consider older persons in development planning, and emphasizing that older people should be able to participate in and benefit equitably from the fruits of development to advance their health and well-being, and that societies should provide enabling environments for them to do so. As populations become increasingly aged, it is more important than ever that governments design innovative policies and public services specifically targeted to older persons, including those addressing, inter alia, housing, employment, health care, infrastructure and social protection.

A majority of this research is from trusted UN and UK Government reports.