Ageing, Health, and Productivity: The Economics of Increased Life Expectancy
Pietro Garibaldi, Joaquim Oliveira Martins, and Jan van Ours
Abstract
The increase in life expectancy is arguably the most remarkable by‐product of modern economic growth. In the last 30 years we have been gaining roughly 2.5 years of longevity every decade both in Europe and in the United States. This progress has outpaced the most optimistic scenarios and documented that demographic projections are no more reliable than economic forecasts. This book looks closely into those challenges, raising a few fundamental issues at both the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. Among these: is it possible to turn the challenges faced by ageing and longevity into a long ... More
The increase in life expectancy is arguably the most remarkable by‐product of modern economic growth. In the last 30 years we have been gaining roughly 2.5 years of longevity every decade both in Europe and in the United States. This progress has outpaced the most optimistic scenarios and documented that demographic projections are no more reliable than economic forecasts. This book looks closely into those challenges, raising a few fundamental issues at both the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. Among these: is it possible to turn the challenges faced by ageing and longevity into a long‐term productive opportunity? Can advanced economies engineer a healthy ageing scenario with long‐term spillovers in terms of enhanced technological progress and acceleration of long‐term growth? What is the microeconomic relationship between ageing and productivity, and how can specific policies postpone any age‐related decay in productivity at the firm and individual levels?
Keywords:
age,
health,
productivity,
technological progress,
economic growth
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2010 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199587131 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199587131.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Pietro Garibaldi, editor
Professor of Economics, University of Torino, Italy, and Director and Fellow, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy
Author Webpage
Joaquim Oliveira Martins, editor
Senior Economist, Economics Department, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), France
Jan van Ours, editor
Professor of Labour Economics, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, and Professional Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia
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