SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

ment bodies, encourage regular interactions
between older and younger people to discuss
intergenerational issues.
Civic and cultural programmes to combat
social isolation and support empowerment
include the Chinese Older Persons’ Chorus
Festival and Olympic Games for older persons.
In Thailand, over 25 percent of older people,
about 2 million in total, were members of senior
citizen clubs in 2007. A national Elderly Fund
provides financial support for activities of older
persons’ groups, clubs or networks. 100
Despite progress, the participation of older
persons in society and development is still relatively
limited in many Asia-Pacific countries,
requiring concerted advocacy to shift mindsets
and tackle marginalization. Only a few countries
have actually implemented comprehensive
policies for older people, in part due to inadequate
awareness of the importance of addressing
population ageing. Another issue is a dearth of
information or evidence upon which to base the
design and implementation of appropriate and
effective policy responses. Collecting better data
and conducting more comprehensive research
could shine a light on ageing in the region, and
its specific dynamics and impacts in each country.
While some countries have now conducted
initial surveys on ageing (Table 4.4), large gaps
remain on a range of ageing issues. Data on
older persons need to be collected regularly, and
disaggregated by age, sex, subnational units and
socioeconomic characteristics.
PRESSURES ON FISCAL
SUSTAINABILITY
Ageing has profound implications for public
budgets. Difficult choices may lie ahead, particularly
without sufficient preparations. A major
challenge overall will be balancing the needs
and rights of different generations, so that expanding
older populations have protection and
care, but without sacrificing essential services
for everyone else.
In some developing regions, such as Latin
America and the Caribbean, and Eastern
Europe and Central Asia, the state provides
generous pension systems. In Asia-Pacific, by
contrast, people still rely more heavily on their
own labour and the support of their families,
especially in rural areas. 101 Nonetheless, several
Asia-pacific countries are among those globally
with the largest recent increases in spending
on pensions. Between 2010 and 2030, pension
spending by the Republic of Korea will rise by
4 percentage points, from 2 percent of GDP
to 6 percent, above the average of advanced
economies, which is 1 percentage point. China’s
spending is projected to increase by 3 percentage
points and Malaysia’s by 2 percentage points,
both substantially higher than the average of
about 1 percentage point for similar countries. 102
With its current design, China’s Basic Old-
Age Insurance scheme for urban non-government
employees could alone run up a deficit that
might be 5 percent of GDP by 2030, with an
accumulated total deficit amounting to over 30
percent of GDP. 103 A national social pension plan
A major fiscal
challenge is balancing
the needs and
rights of different
generations
TABLE 4.4:
A number of countries have initiated national ageing surveys to guide policy choices
Source: Various reports.
141