The Economic Effects of Aging in the United States and Japan

Due to falling fertility rates, the ageing of the baby-boom cohort, and increases in life expectancy, the percentage of the population that is elderly is expected to increase rapidly in the United States and Japan over the first two decades of the 21st century. The 14 essays in this volume seek to show that, despite differences in culture and social and government structure, population ageing will have many similar macro and micro effects on the economic status and behaviour of the elderly in both countries. The most obvious effects will be on social programmes such as public pension systems and the provision for medical needs of the elderly. However, the contributors assert that ageing will also affect markets for labour, capital, housing, and health care services as well as firms through their participation in the demand side of the labour market and through their provisions for pensions.