Future Directions
for the Demography
of Aging
PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
Mark D. Hayward and Malay K. Majmundar, Editors
Committee on Population
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (HHSN26300110). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-47410-8
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-47410-8
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25064
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). Future Directions for the Demography of Aging: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25064.
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STEERING COMMITTEE FOR A WORKSHOP ON THE FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR THE DEMOGRAPHY OF AGING
MARK D. HAYWARD (Chair), Population Research Center, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
VICKI A. FREEDMAN, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
LINDA J. WAITE, Population Research Center, University of Chicago
DAVID R. WEIR, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
REBECA WONG, Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
MALAY K. MAJMUNDAR, Study Director
MARY GHITELMAN, Senior Program Assistant
COMMITTEE ON POPULATION
KATHLEEN MULLAN HARRIS (Chair), Sociology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
JERE R. BEHRMAN, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania
LISA F. BERKMAN, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
ANN K. BLANC, Population Council
VICKI A. FREEDMAN, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
DANA A. GLEI, Georgetown University
MARK D. HAYWARD, Population Research Center, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
HILLARD S. KAPLAN, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico
SARA S. MCLANAHAN, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University
EMILIO A. PARRADO, Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania
DAVID R. WEIR, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
JOHN R. WILMOTH, Population Division/DESA, United Nations
MALAY K. MAJMUNDAR, Director
Preface
Almost 25 years have passed since the Demography of Aging (1994) was published by the National Research Council. The volume was a major contribution that defined the contours of an emerging field. Nine major themes in the demography of aging were assessed by experts in the field. The themes were
- Formal demography of population aging, transfers, and the economic cycle
- Retirement and labor force behavior of the elderly
- Income, wealth, and intergenerational economic relations of the aged
- The elderly and their kin: patterns of availability and access
- Care of the elderly: division of labor among the family, market, and state
- Medical demography: interaction of disability dynamics and mortality
- Socioeconomic differences in adult mortality and health status
- Geographic concentration, migration, and population redistribution among the elderly
- Research on the demography of aging in developing countries.
The original volume stimulated the interest of a new generation of population scientists. It provided the scientific foundations for new research collaborations and interdisciplinary approaches, the development of innovative data resources, and the forging of institutional partnerships—all of which contributed to rapid advancements in scientific knowledge and the scaling up of scientific questions.
The current volume is, in many ways, the successor to the original volume. The Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, through its Committee on Population, to produce an authoritative guide to new directions in demography of aging. The Steering Committee for a Workshop on the Future Directions for the Demography of Aging was appointed by the National Academies to carry out this project. The papers published in this volume were originally presented and discussed at a public workshop held in Washington, D.C., August 17–18, 2017.
The workshop discussion made evident that major new advances had been made in the last two decades, but also that new trends and research directions have emerged that call for innovative conceptual, design, and measurement approaches. Changes in fertility, life expectancy, and population-age structure have had profound effects on the opportunities and constraints facing individuals, their families, and their communities. The older population has become more racially/ethnically diverse. Kin relationships have become more complex and fluid, and more people now approaching old age have been divorced and many have never been married. Population health now spans a web of health processes including biological risk, disability, cognition, and disease. The health and well-being of the older population are now seen as the consequences of long-run and cumulative effects of social, economic, and contextual factors over the entire life course.
The current volume reviews these recent trends and also discusses future directions for research on a range of topics that are central to current research in the demography of aging. For example, how is the older population changing in its racial/ethnic composition, and what is the role of nativity in shaping health and well-being? What are the major debates about how life course socioeconomic conditions influence health at older ages, and what are the major biological and behavioral pathways? What health problems are looming for future birth cohorts, and how is inequality in health shaping national trends? How are changes in life course exposures linked to cognitive aging and the future of dementia? How is disability associated with disease, the environment, and relationships? How does “place,” defined at a variety of levels, influence health? How is the timing and nature of retirement changing, and how are changes in health interacting with retirement? How is the incorporation of new technologies and measures leading to a better understanding of aging? How is the growth of global data resources in aging changing our understanding of population aging both in developing and developed countries?
These questions represent only a subset of the rich array of issues taken up in this volume. Looking back over the past two decades of demography of aging research shows remarkable advances in our understanding of the health and well-being of the older population. Equally exciting is that this
volume sets the stage for the next two decades of innovative research—a period of rapid growth in the older American population.
Many people have been responsible for the development and production of this volume. We gratefully acknowledge NIA for guidance and financial support. Special thanks also go to the members of the workshop steering committee: Vicki A. Freedman, Linda J. Waite, David R. Weir, and Rebeca Wong. They helped shape the contents of this volume by laying out the specific topics to be addressed; identifying leading scholars in the field to write papers on those topics; and providing valuable feedback to the paper authors before, during, and after the workshop.
Several staff members of the National Academies also made significant contributions to the volume. Mary Ghitelman ensured that the workshop ran smoothly, assisted in preparing the manuscript, and provided key logistical and administrative support throughout the project. Thanks are also due to Kirsten Sampson Snyder for managing the report review process, Yvonne Wise for managing the report production process, and Robert Katt for his skillful editing.
This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: Jennifer Ailshire, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California; Lisa F. Berkman, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University; Gary Burtless, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution; William H. Dow, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley; Pamela Herd, Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Jennifer J. Manly, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research in Aging and Alzheimer’s, Columbia University; Jennifer Karas Montez, Department of Sociology, Syracuse University; Fernando Riosmena, Population Program and Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder; Robert F. Schoeni, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan; Judith A. Seltzer, California Center for Population Research and Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles; Cássio M. Turra, Demography Department, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; and Debra J. Umberson, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive com-
ments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Kirsten Sampson Snyder, Reports Office, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authors and the National Academies.
Mark D. Hayward, Chair
Malay K. Majmundar, Study Director
Steering Committee for a Workshop on the
Future Directions for the Demography of Aging
Contents
PART I: Health Trends and Disparities
1 Trends in Mortality, Disease, and Physiological Status in the Older Population
2 Racial/Ethnic and Nativity Disparities in the Health of Older U.S. Men and Women
Robert A. Hummer and Iliya Gutin
3 Socioeconomic Status, Health, and Mortality in Aging Populations
Angela M. O’Rand and Scott M. Lynch
PART II: Social and Environmental Contexts Shaping Aging and Health
4 Social Well-Being and Health in the Older Population: Moving beyond Social Relationships
Kathleen A. Cagney and Erin York Cornwell
PART III: Families and Intergenerational Transfers
6 Demography of Aging and the Family
PART IV: Work and Retirement in the Older Population
8 The Demography of Retirement
PART V: Disability and Cognitive Health of the Older Population
9 Cognitive Aging, Dementia, and the Future of an Aging Population
10 The Demography of Late-Life Disability
PART VI: The Demography of Aging on a Global Scale
Nikkil Sudharsanan and David E. Bloom
12 Health, Economic Status, and Aging in High-Income Countries
Jinkook Lee and James P. Smith
PART VII: New Approaches in Measurement
13 New Measures and New Designs in Demography of Aging Research
David R. Weir, Linda J. Waite, Rebeca Wong, and Vicki A. Freedman