ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on demography; countries across the region are facing rapid demographic aging, fostering a stark increase in absolute numbers as well as in the percentage of older adults in their populations. Developing nations in Asia, similar to developing nations in other regions of the world, have had to adopt certain programs and policies in order to secure loans from international agencies. The chapter shows that political leaders in the region, reinforced by Asian cultural values, have eschewed the establishment of comprehensive retirement systems, leaving older people dependent on their family for financial support. Pension policy, Asian style, tends to be restricted largely to employee-supported provident-fund arrangements with limited government financing. The Social Security System faces serious administrative and fiscal problems. Similar to pension policies in the region, Asian nations tend to provide only limited publicly-supported medical services. There is an even greater paucity of government programs to assist the frail elderly, whether at home or in nursing homes.
