Aging, work and the demographic dividend in South Asia

Abstract

Much current interest in South Asia's population structure focuses on 'the working generation' (aged 15-60) and particularly on the 'youth' who could potentially deliver a 'demographic dividend', thereby solving the conundrum of population ageing in developing economies. In contrast to this idea and the related one underlying a wide range of development strategies, that reductions of poverty at younger ages will have a meaningful impact on poverty in old age, this paper will demonstrate, first, that older people’s paid and unpaid work is needed to realise the demographic dividend, second, that older people already play an important role in reducing family poverty and sustaining national economies and, third, that only age-specific policies can address poverty in old age