Social Theory Social Policy And Ageing

This work covers theoretical developments and issues influencing the study of adult ageing. It explores contemporary trends in social policy drawing on the experience of ageing in the USA, Europe and an increasingly global environment. Feminist perspectives on ageing are also covered.

This book attempts to identify two central areas for the study of aging and the epistemological differences and continuities between them: constructions of aging (modern) and deconstructions of aging (postmodern).

This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive treatment of the political economy of aging. From the founder and key thinker in the field comes a work that aims to contribute to the understanding of old age and aging in the context of problems and issues of the larger social order in America. Since Carroll Estes' first writing on the political economy of aging in 1979, there has been growing recognition and incorporation of her critical perspective as one of the major paradigms in the field of aging. The only comprehensive book-length treatment of the subject, Social Policy and Aging addresses the globalization of capital and developments in health care restructuring. Combining social gerontological theory and major theoretical advances in work on the welfare state, this text keeps readers abreast of the new development within the discipline. Students and researchers alike will appreciate this critical perspective, widely acknowledged as one of the major paradigms in the field of aging. [Ed.]

Around half the world s population live in countries where the fertility rate is far below the replacement rate and where life expectancy is increasing dramatically. Using Singapore as a case study, Social Policy in an Ageing Society explores what might happen in a dynamic and prosperous society when falling births, longer life expectancy and rising expectations put disproportionate pressure on scarce resources that have alternative uses. David Reisman investigates the challenges facing Singapore, where a rapidly rising median age and the growing pressure of the elderly upon medical attention are threatening to disrupt the economic and even the political status quo. The dependency of the old upon the young is becoming a financial and an emotional burden. Health care is swelling in quantity and price. Voluntary and compulsory savings are being used up. New demands for pensions and subsidies are challenging the national ideology of family network and self-reliance. Despite a wealth of prospective problems, the author argues that viable solutions can be found. Discretionary savings can increase. Reverse mortgages can monetise owner-occupied property. A higher participation rate can give the elderly the opportunity to earn a living for themselves. This book concludes that public policy must play its part in facilitating these solutions. It must ensure that the old retain their dignity. The old should not lie where they fall. This comprehensive, intelligible and highly original cross-disciplinary study will appeal to a wide-ranging audience. Readers will include academics, researchers and students with an interest in health economics, the economics of development, social policy and administration, public policy and the socio-economic aspects of medicine.

The "Need for Theory" speaks to the burgeoning need for critical thinking in social gerontology. The editors have brought together some of the foremost contributors to theoretical advances in the field. This volume incorporates state-of-the-art theorizing with a focus on selected topical areas facing gerontologists around the world. Using their keen insights into substantive issues, the contributors examine personal and structural changes affecting individuals over the life course. Extolling the need for theory is not enough; the contributors focus their insights on a panoply of substantive issues, linking the personal with the political and with the structural parameters that shape the process of aging, no matter where it occurs.

This will be a four-volume interdisciplinary collection on the soail issues of aging: a balance will be struck between a social and public policy perspective on ageing, and broader sociological and socio-cultural debates within the field. Contributions illustrating ageing from a broad range of settings would be a key aspect of the volumes. Volume One Theme: Old Age from a Historical and Cultural Perspective Historical perspectives on experiences of ageing Images of ageing The development of social welfare for older people Cross-cultural variations in ageing Volume Two Theme: Theoretical Perspectives on Social Ageing Traditional theories of social ageing Life Course and developmental models of ageing Social construction and political economy models of ageing Approaches from the humanities Volume Three: Family, Community and Social Relationships in Old Age The Family Life of Older People Older People in the Community Daily Life in Old Age Social Relationships in Later Life Volume Four - Theme: Health and Social Policies on Ageing Policies for work and retirement Support for older people in the community Issues in residential and day care Ethical issues in the care of older people

Offers insights into the way in which social policies and welfare state arrangements interact with family and gender models. This title presents the research in the field, based on a variety of national and comparative sources and using different theoretical and methodological approaches.