The Aging Population - Essay Example

Ageing Population of the Executive summary Ageing population is increasingly becoming a characteristic feature for most developed and developing nations of the world. It is predicted that the world will soon house a high percentage of population who are elderly and inactive. This can pose to be a disadvantageous scenario. Birth rate is seen to be not at par with high life expectancy. Purpose of the report is to lay light upon different aspects of ageing population, its primary causes, benefits and negative impacts on society. The analysis primarily concerns ways in which ageing population affects the future. At the initial stage, my general idea regarded ageing population as a highly detrimental scenario. However, with progressive studies and analysis, I developed greater understanding and my perception changed significantly. Ageing population is a by-product of development and luxurious lifestyle and hence, cannot be eliminated. The primary objective for society should be to increase birth rates so that proportion of youngsters remains compatible with ageing population. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Reflective commentary 4 Strategic foresight 4 Analysis 5 The future scenario 8 Recommendations 9 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Upon the subject matter of ageing population, as a student, my general perception is that this is an unavoidable factor in rising economies across the globe. I feel that many countries in the world are likely to face the problem of ageing population in the near future. Countries of Europe and Asia are increasingly showing signs of ageing population. The world has never recorded such high growth in ageing population as has been observed since past few decades; this trend is expected to stay on in the future. An aging population is characterized by decline in the population of children and rise in that of the elderly. An ageing population scenario arises when life expectancy levels are seen to rise and birth rates appear to fall. Population ageing is generally associated with two main demographic factors: Firstly, declining levels of fertility reduce birth rates; as a result of which population of young people gets lowered. Secondly, ageing population is also characterized by development in the field of medicines and health treatments. As per my initial analysis, ageing population can lead to multiple problems in the future. Elderly people who have enough savings, but cannot work, do not contribute sufficiently towards social development. Due to scarcity of young population, labour will not be cheaply available; as a result, there will be a huge scarcity of fresh skills. This reflective report incorporates my significant analysis upon the subject of ageing population and its effects; its current standing globally; and ways in which ageing population is likely to impact the future. Reflective commentary Strategic foresight This reflective report has been prepared on basis of the strategic foresight technique. Strategic foresight is a method by which possible scenarios of the future are analyzed. It is a sub-aspect of planning for the future. The process includes; collecting data as per scanned inputs; forecasting future scenario and analysis of the same; and lastly, constructing future plans and developing alternative methods for achieving better results. In this report, strategic forecasting has been done on the basis of data input available from previously prepared presentation upon the subject matter of ageing population. Additionally, various journals and publications were referred for gather greater ideas upon the subject matter. The analysis emphasizes upon recognizing drawbacks, benefits and future impacts of ageing population. Analysis The drawbacks of ageing population The biggest drawback of an ageing population is that it leads to scarcity in labour. Elderly people cannot perform several kinds of challenging tasks, which require immense physical effort. Industries demanding such skills may find it difficult to operate in an ageing economy. As a result, workers and employees are required to be brought in from other countries, where young workers are abundant. This increases cost of production. Also under such a scenario, it becomes difficult for organizations to grow and set up new facilities due to unavailability of workers. Consequently, they are forced to expand business by developing branches at other locations. This leads to increase in costs and movement of money and materials. Such a venture can only be adopted by big firms, which are financially strong. Many small firms fail to adopt such practices because of which they fail to expand in an ageing economy. It is also seen that due to shortage of young workers, they are employed at high prices in comparison with other economies that do not face the problem of an ageing population (Swarts, 2009). Ageing population leads to scarcity in availability of fresh skill and talent. In present globalised economy, it is highly essential to have innovative and talented employees who can constantly come up with better strategic ideas. This quality is seen to be lacking if the population does not have potential number of youngsters. When the economy lacks this aspect, firms can hardly sustain in a highly competitive globalized economy. Firms are driven towards searching and recruiting fresh talent from abroad, which proves to be a costly venture (Dannefer, 2003). A significant part of the population is seen to get engaged in taking care of their elderly parents and grandparents in an ageing population. This harms competitiveness and overall productivity of the nation gets reduced. In addition, it is seen that a significant portion of the population requires to be trained upon providing hospitality facilities for the considerably large segment of elderly people in the society (Robine & Michel, 2004). Figure: Rise in aging population (Source: Asian Correspondent, 2012) As the population ages, cost for providing health care and pension facilities rises. The cost of providing such facilities is borne by the working class who end up paying increased taxes to the government. This also increases pressure upon the working class. Since life expectancy of women is higher than men, composition of females will be higher in an ageing population. Amongst the age group of 60 and above, composition of female population is 55% worldwide. Among the highly aged (80 and above), women population composition is almost twice as men (International Labour Organization, 2009). These women are generally widows and require special care and attention, which make them extensively dependent upon their children. The government in many nations are seen to provide social security to such class of women. An ageing population induces the behaviour amongst youngsters to set aside a significant part of their income for medical purposes in future. So, a less amount of savings will be invested for growth and development activities. This highly impacts fund mobilization. The government might find it extremely difficult to support the growing requirement of health care. A greying economy might find it difficult to generate adequate funds due to lack of labour availability. Additionally, if there is pressure for providing increased health care facilities, the government might require to struggle for meeting such requirements due to absence of funds (Silva, Aw & Palmer, 2007). Benefits of ageing population Ageing population leads to increased level of experience and knowledge. This aspect can be taken advantage of in various fields such as, medicine, law, business and others. However, firms operating in industries that involve research and innovation may not benefit from an ageing population as experience counts less in such sectors. Aged population, due to their relevant experience in different fields, is considered as knowledge banks. It is generally seen that the number of trainers, professors and advisors in an ageing society is high (Gee, 2002). Ageing population entails the advantage of progress in health care facilities. Medical institutions will be able to generate greater revenues as increasing number of elderly people will require health care facilities. Consequently, there will be significant growth in the field of medical science. Thus, it can be said that hospitals, pharmacies and health care services can hugely benefit from the aspect of ageing population (Andrews, 2001). An ageing population scenario would indirectly mean that there exists an overall welfare factor in the society. People are able to live in ease and comfort, which has resulted in increase of their life span. When composition of aged people is high, there are lower numbers of crime. Elderly people do not indulge in thefts, robbery and other types of corrupt practices as they prefer to lead a calm and peaceful life. So, violence rates in society are seen to be generally low. Social stability is seen to be high under such scenarios. Aging population increases vote banks. Elderly people are seen to be more interested in political aspects as well as actively participate in the same. Educated elderly people are seen to spend more time surfing the net compared to youngsters as seen in countries such as, U.K. A higher proportion of aged people appear to access online shopping websites and socializing forums. Many online trading industries can make use of such a scenario. Elderly people who are retired and spend large amount of time at home are seen to get increasingly addicted to technology. Experts are of the opinion that experienced professionals are more valued in a firm due to their high level of knowledge. The general assumption that older people are less adaptable towards change and innovation has been ruled out by many firms. In fact, in many organizations, a significant portion of the management staff comprises elderly people (Shaw, 2002). The future scenario On the basis of the above discussion, ageing population induces following aspects into the society (Jowit, 2013): Reduced expenditure on young people- A majority of the government spending will be directed at developing better health care facilities for the elderly. Providing pensions will also be a major cost aspect. So, there will be less expenditure for developing schools, colleges and training institutes for youngsters. Growth and advancement cannot be facilitated if there is reduced number of talented and skilful employees. Increased retirement age- When the population is characterized by high number of elderly people, general age of retirement gets delayed. So, individuals will be seen to spend more time working. Increased healthcare facilities- As the population ages, there is a growing demand for healthcare. This aspect helps the healthcare and medical science sector to flourish. Tax burden- An ageing society needs higher benefits such as, pension and medical facilities. In order to meet such requirements, the government increases the level of taxes so as to generate greater revenue. This proves to be a burden for the working class. Low labour availability- Aged people cannot be expected to perform highly laborious tasks. Hence, many manufacturing and construction firms might find the greying society scenario to be highly disadvantageous. Ageing population arises out of two very important factors, which are discussed below (Young, 2002): Reduced birth rates- Birth rates are seen to be low when fertility levels are declining. Unhealthy lifestyle is the main reason for this. An increased number of people, including both men and women, adhere to chronic drinking habits and smoking. This is seen to impact their health negatively. Also, reduced physical activity and development of fast food habits further aggravates health issues. High life expectancy- With growth in medical science, people have been able to counter many health problems, which resulted in increased level of life expectancy. People live longer owing to easy availability of medical facilities. Recommendations It is not possible to make people die at an early age in order to counter the problem of aging population. The objective of medical science would be to increase life span as long as people can be active. This would mean that an increased number of elderly people can work and contribute towards growth of the economy. This is only possible if people adhere to healthy lifestyle and incorporate physical activity as part of their daily lives. Individuals should avoid alcohol consumption and other types of harmful habits that impact their health negatively. This would help maintaining youth and activeness amongst individuals for longer. In addition, a healthy lifestyle assists improvement in health conditions, thereby leading to rising birth rates (Bloom, Canning & Fink, 2010). Conclusion At the beginning of the study, I was largely under the perception that an ageing population scenario is extremely unfavourable. Nonetheless, after a thorough analysis of the subject matter, I have come to the understanding that along with development and flourishing lifestyles, people are naturally expected to live longer. Aging population is an aspect that comes along with advancement, especially in the field of medical science. The objective of the society must be to increase birth rate, so that the scenario of ageing population can be countered with the help of increase in proportion of youngsters in the society. Furthermore, it is important to increase the age levels till which individuals can remain active. Therefore, the study significantly reveals that although development and prosperity are developers of an ageing population, if suitable measures are taken, its impacts on society can be less drastic. References Andrews, G. R. (2001). Care of older people: Promoting health and function in an ageing population. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 322(7288), 728. Asian Correspondent, (2012). UN urges protection for elderly as world grays. Retrieved from http://asiancorrespondent.com/90214/un-urges-protection-for-elderly-as-world-grays/. Bloom, D. E., Canning, D. & Fink, G. (2010). Implications of population ageing for economic growth. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 26(4), 583-612. Dannefer, D. (2003). Cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the life course: Cross-fertilizing age and social science theory. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(6), S327-S337. Gee, E. M. (2002). Misconceptions and misapprehensions about population ageing. International journal of epidemiology, 31(4), 750-753. International Labour Organization, (2009). Ageing societies: The benefits, and the costs, of living longer. Retrieved from http://ilo.org/global/publications/magazines-and-journals/world-of-work-magazine/articles/WCM_041965/lang--en/index.htm. Jowit, J. (2013). Ageing population will have huge impact on social services, Lords told. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/24/britain-ageing-population-lords-inquiry. Robine, J. M. & Michel, J. P. (2004). Looking forward to a general theory on population aging. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 59(6), M590-M597. Shaw, F. (2002). Is the ageing population the problem it is made out to be? Foresight, 4(3), 4-11. Silva, A. B., Aw, D. & Palmer, D. B. (2007). Immunosenescence: emerging challenges for an ageing population. Immunology, 120(4), 435-446. Swarts, K. (2009). The ageing population. California: Greehaven Press. Young, G. (2002). The implications of an ageing population for the UK economy. London: Bank of England. Read More