ABSTRACT
In rich societies, aging is a phenomenon with important consequences for the internal organization, economic functioning, and welfare of the population. Despite the potential consequences, specific analytical tools that can be used to generate an integrated representation of it are unavailable. To fill this void, this book has presented an approach that can describe the functional and structural adjustments taking place in an aging society. These changes may include a higher dependency ratio, which increases the requirement of labor time in the service sector and translates into a further reduction in the workforce. When considering the relations between the profile of allocation of human time and energy and technology across different social practices, we can see that in an aging society, significant adjustments in the patterns of human time allocation and energy use are inevitable. None of the possible readjustments required to address the issue of available labor hours in society are pleasant. These solutions can include reducing the level of production and consumption of goods and services, increasing the workload for workers, or relying more on imports. The message from this book is that rather than turning a blind eye or denying the problem, we should thoughtfully and analytically address the challenges and opportunities associated with an aging population. Population aging is a complex issue that requires finding new ways to better care for one another across the age divide.
