ABSTRACT
All the major industrialised countries are experiencing a common economic and social transformation - the ageing of their populations. A number of commentators have identified the distributional imperatives that are a concomitant of population ageing as a cause for economic concern. Most of the economists who have considered in depth the issue of population ageing have focused on the implications of this demographic restructuring for the financing of social security systems. The retirement of the baby-boomers in the decade from 2010 will lead to a sharp increase in the public transfers towards the retired population. Social administrators and social policy analysts have long had a particular interest in the elderly population, since this group is the largest constituency for the receipt of medical and personal social services and for financial transfers through the pension system.
