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Productive Aging

Policy Considerations



Through the efforts of The Commonwealth Fund and other allied research efforts, it is possible to quantify the scope of the daily contributions that older adults provide to their employers, families, and communities. But, as many elders point out, they face constant barriers in their desire to remain in the mainstream of activity. Age discrimination in employment continues to be a part of everyday life. Colleges and universities remain focused on developing programs to attract young people and are less interested in attracting older adults interested in retraining; vestiges of depression-era policies designed to encourage the retirement of older people to make room for younger workers remain in practice; incentives exist to encourage older people to remove themselves from significant roles; and social and economic disincentives frequently confront those who want to remain economic contributors. These are the policies and practices that proponents of productive aging seek to change.



Economists point out that the economic challenges of the early twenty-first century are quite different than that of the previous century. Contrary to having vast supplies of young skilled labor, the nation has been faced with modest economic growth, a limited supply of skilled labor, and an aging population. The United States will need to develop strategies to respond to these changing economic and demographic conditions. According the Hudson Institute, in their report Workforce 2020, should America continue to experience even limited economic growth, sustained skilled-labor shortages loom on the horizon. Economists argue that rather than encouraging early retirement of older workers, public policy needs to be directed toward retraining and engaging the available talent.

Productive aging calls into question the lost opportunities to both society and the individual through policies or practices of articulated withdrawal of older people from productive activity. Policies, from Social Security to private pension policies, need to be considered in light of the changing economic landscape and the overall benefits to the individual, the tax base, and the economy, should older people choose to be engaged in productive activity well into their later years. While productive aging is not the holy grail of aging, it does raise questions about the enhanced roles some older people may choose to play in a modern and mature society.

SCOTT A. BASS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BASS, S. A. Older and Active: How Americans over 55 Are Contributing to Society. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.

BASS, S. A., and CARO, F. G. "Productive Aging: A Conceptual Framework." In Productive Aging: Concepts, Cautions, and Challenges. Edited by N. Morrow-Howell, J. E. Hinterlong, and M. W. Herraden. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

BASS, S. A.; KUTZA, E. A.; and TORRES-GIL, F. M. "Diversity in Aging: The Challenges Facing the White House Conference on Aging." In Diversity in Aging: Challenges Facing Planners & Policymakers in the 1990s. Edited by S. A. Bass, E. A. Kutza, and F. M. Torres-Gil. Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1990. Pages 175–183.

BUTLER, R. N. Why Survive? New York: Harper & Row, 1975.

BUTLER, R. N., and GLEASON, H. P. Productive Aging: Enhancing Vitality in Later Life. New York: Springer, 1985.

CARO, F. G.; BASS, S. A.; and CHEN, Y.-P. "Introduction: Achieving a Productive Aging Society." In Achieving a Productive Aging Society. Edited by S. A. Bass, F. G. Caro, and Y.-P. Chen. Westport, Conn.: Auburn House, 1993. Pages 3–25.

CARO, F. G., and BASS, S. A. "Dimensions of Productive Engagement." In Older and Active: How Americans Over 55 Are Contributing to Society. Edited by S. A. Bass. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. Pages 204–216.

COLEMAN, K. "The Value of Productive Activities of Older Americans." In Older and Active: How Americans Over 55 Are Contributing to Society. Edited by S. A. Bass. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. Pages 169–203.

ESTES, C. L. The Aging Enterprise. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1983.

HERZOG, A.; KAHN, R.; MORGAN, R.; JACKSON, J.; and ANTONUCCI, T. "Age Differences in Productive Activities." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 44 (1989): 129–138.

HOLSTEIN, M. "Productive Aging: A Feminist Critique." Journal of Aging and Social Policy 4, no. 3/4 (1992): 17–33.

JUDY, R. W., and D'AMICO, C. D. Workforce 2020. Indianapolis, Ind.: Hudson Institute, 1997.

QUINN, J., and BURKHAUSER, R. "Retirement and the Labor Force Behavior of the Elderly." In The Demography of Aging. Edited by L. G. Martin and S. H. Martin. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1994. Pages 50–101.

ROWE, J. W., and KAHN, R. L. Successful Aging. New York: Pantheon Books, 1998.

Additional topics

Medicine EncyclopediaAging Healthy - Part 3Productive Aging - Definition, Some Controversy, Variables That Influence Productive Aging, Policy Considerations