Aging and Old AgeAre the elderly posing a threat to America's political system with their enormous clout? Are they stretching resources to the breaking point with their growing demands for care? Distinguished economist and legal scholar Richard A. Posner explodes the myth that the United States could be on the brink of gerontological disaster. Aging and Old Age offers fresh insight into a wide range of social and political issues relating to the elderly, such as health care, crime, social security, and discrimination. From the dread of death to the inordinate law-abidingness of the old, from their loquacity to their penny-pinching, Posner paints a surprisingly rich, revealing, and unsentimental portrait of the millions of elderly people in the United States. He explores issues such as age discrimination in employment, creativity and leadership as functions of age, and the changing social status of the elderly. Why are old people, presumably with less to lose, more unwilling to take risks than young people? Why don't the elderly in the United States command the respect and affection they once did and still do in other countries? How does aging affect driving and criminal records? And how does aging relate to creativity across different careers? |
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Page 7
... activities ( that is , the as- signing of roles on the basis of chronological age ) , an important feature of primitive societies , is not limited to old people . Indeed , the study of old age is inseparable from that of the entire life ...
... activities ( that is , the as- signing of roles on the basis of chronological age ) , an important feature of primitive societies , is not limited to old people . Indeed , the study of old age is inseparable from that of the entire life ...
Page 8
... activities . I also emphasize boredom , viewed as the obverse of habit , as an economically analyzable factor in the decision to retire . And I introduce and defend the proposition , which plays a big role in the book , that the ...
... activities . I also emphasize boredom , viewed as the obverse of habit , as an economically analyzable factor in the decision to retire . And I introduce and defend the proposition , which plays a big role in the book , that the ...
Page 9
... activities of distinguishing between lived experience and practical wisdom , on the one hand , and book learning and abstract reasoning , on the other . I also try to explain the difference between " creative " occupations and ...
... activities of distinguishing between lived experience and practical wisdom , on the one hand , and book learning and abstract reasoning , on the other . I also try to explain the difference between " creative " occupations and ...
Page 10
... activities . Chapter 9 examines the even wider differences in the social status of the aged in different societies , differences that run the gamut from compul- sory geronticide to ancestor worship . I lay particular stress on premodern ...
... activities . Chapter 9 examines the even wider differences in the social status of the aged in different societies , differences that run the gamut from compul- sory geronticide to ancestor worship . I lay particular stress on premodern ...
Page 25
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Contents
What Is Aging and Why? | 17 |
Old Age Past Present and Future | 31 |
A HumanCapital Model of Aging | 51 |
An Economic Model of Aging with Change Assumed | 66 |
The Economic Theory Elaborated and Applied | 97 |
The Economic Psychology of the Old | 99 |
Behavioral Correlates of Age | 122 |
Age Creativity and Output | 156 |
Adjudication and Old Age | 180 |
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Common terms and phrases
accident activity age discrimination age group age-related decline American analysis Aristotle assisted suicide average behavior benefits capability chapter citations cognitive correlated cost creative crime criminal death disabled discount rate discussed diseases early retirement economic elderly persons employer employment ERISA euthanasia evidence example expected experience factor firm-specific human capital fluid intelligence future Gerontology greater higher human capital incentive income increase investment in human Journal of Gerontology judicial labor leadership less living longevity mandatory retirement ment mental nomic nonpecuniary offset old age old person older workers one's opportunity costs output pension percent percentage performance physical physician-assisted suicide plaintiffs political polygyny population Posner problem productivity Psychology ratio reason reduce retirement age risk selection bias senile dementia senior status sexual social security society statistical discrimination statistics suicide rate tend tion utility voting wage women young younger