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Population aging is an irreversible trend in demographic transition and the development process of the global population and modern society. According to World Population Prospects 2022, the proportion of the population aged 60 years and older has exceeded 10% in the 21st century and will increase rapidly in the future. By the middle of this century, 70% of older adults will be concentrated in developing areas (1). China has the largest population of older adults in the world, and the proportion of older adults aged above 60 years old increased from 13.32% in 2010 to 18.73% in 2020 (2). The rapid speed and large scale of aging population pose severe challenges to social development. Thus, the task of renewing the relationship between population aging and modernized social governance is urgent and challenging.
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The key to active population aging is to realize that older adults are an important, productive support and driving force for social and economic development. It is also the key to treating aging, diseases, and disabilities throughout the life course and for society. It is fair to say that giving full play to the health values of older adults, actively developing their potential human capital and maximizing the health dividends from older adults, have almost become the only feasible way to integrate and coordinate the development of population aging and society and economy in a sustainable way to some extent. Below are some thoughts about how to adopt DG in promoting active population aging:
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First, it is important to fully understand the significance of the health dividends of older adults in the comprehensive governance of modernized society. DG advances that the negative impact of population aging on economic growth can be mitigated or even eliminated under consideration for population health factors (9). The combined impact of the health dividends of older adults and the labor force health dividends on the national savings rate can be expressed as follows:
$$ s=1-\frac{{c}_{L}}{y}-\frac{{c}_{R}}{y}\frac{R-\beta R}{\alpha L+\beta R} $$ (1) where
$ s $ denotes the national savings rate,$ L $ denotes the number of workers, and$ y $ denotes the output level per capita of the workforce.$ {c}_{L} $ denotes the per capita consumption level,$ {c}_{R} $ denotes the per capita consumption level for the elderly population,$ R $ denotes the number of the elderly population, and$ \beta $ is assumed to be the proportion of the elderly population among the healthy elderly population.Furthermore, from the perspective of labor productivity, the per capita output level of the labor force is influenced by the health level of the labor force, so the actual labor productivity can be expressed as follows:
$$ \stackrel{~}{y}=y\left({\beta }_{L}L+{\beta }_{R}R\right) $$ (2) where
$ {\beta }_{L} $ denotes the health coefficient of the labor force, and$ {\beta }_{R} $ denotes the health coefficient of older adults. Thus, in terms of economic growth, health improvement can generate health dividends for older adults.Equation (2) shows that with the increasing number of older adults in China, health promotion through technological development and social support is one of the important ways to explore the “health dividend of older age” and respond actively to population aging.
Second, the investment in the development of health science and technology and the establishment of health support systems should be increased. During the process of population aging, it is important to identify and control health risks exposed to gestational age-aging process- old age to minimize the occurrence of diseases and disabilities from birth to old age during life and prevent the accumulation and outbreaks of disease, disability and even death in older age. This is also important for improving the health condition, productivity and efficiency of the labor force and extending the labor health dividend to achieve economic growth.
Third, it is important to strengthen the systems and mechanisms to promote population health at all levels of governance. To actively respond to population aging, the use of the following is essential: 1) multidimensional health-related indicators to measure the development conditions of a region or a unit; 2) a life course approach to promote active aging and construction of suitable systems to promoting the health of children, the labor force and older adults.
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First, it is necessary to promote the construction of an age-friendly society by building a healthy environment, renovating a supportive environment, and establishing an age-friendly basic, sociocultural, and social supporting environment. Meanwhile, a sound system providing health services for older adults led by the government, integrated into and supported by society, should be formed to encourage older adults to create a supportive and inclusive social environment. In addition, providing rich and diverse opportunities for older adults to actively participate in various social affairs can help to realize self-achievement, provide elderly a sense of competence and promote active aging.
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DG highlights that older adults are the precious wealth and resources of society and the social labor forces that cannot be ignored. With a comprehensive definition of old age, a sound and effective system should be established to improve the participation, contribution and sharing of society by older adults to form a new pattern of modern governance of the aging society. First, the permanent mechanism for developing the human capital of older adults should be established. It is beneficial to give a full role to the market economy, gradually establish a competitive and orderly labor market system for older adults, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of elderly workers to re-employment, promote ways for flexible employment for older adults, activate the stock of human capital, and further improve the efficiency and level of social production. Second, it is important to actively develop the aging industry and cultivate new economic growth drivers for an aging society. Older adults in China have huge consumption potential. Thus, efforts should be made to overcome the current conflict between overcapacity and unmeet diverse demands of older adults, actively adjust the social industrial structure to adapt to population aging and promote the upgrading and transformation of the industrial structure. Driven by the health and demand of older adults, the proportion of the elderly health industry in the entire economy should be increased. In-depth application of the new generation information technology such as fifth generation technology (5G), AI, and big data in the field of population aging and health should be explored to cultivate new driving forces for social economic development.
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Increasing the Health Reserves and Developing the Health Dividends of Older Adults
Accelerating the Construction of Aged-friendly Cities and Society
Establishing the View of Active Aging in Active Participation, Contribution and Sharing of Society by Older Adults
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