SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

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start-up ventures could benefit from improved access to finance, including through new tools such as crowdfunding, as well as technical support related to business management and legal advice. Countries such as the Republic of Korea provide financial and other forms of support to youth with innovative business ideas. Helping youth to establish small and medium enterprises not only brings new products and ideas to markets, but also increases employment. Engage youth in community development and public policy. Young people can offer new insights and pioneering solutions in policy dialogues, or as representatives in national or local decision-making bodies. Many today are more informed than ever before, and keen to tap into new technologies to devise innovative solutions, such as through social media and crowdsourcing platforms. They participated pro-actively in deliberations around Agenda 2030, and are now poised to support its implementation, a process that countries should seek to encourage. National youth councils are one option; reserving seats for youth in parliaments and local legislatures can be another. Bhutan recently launched its first Children’s Parliament and Constitution as a platform for youth participation. Civic education is another priority, as it instils common values, and a sense of social and civic rights and obligations—one possibility is to integrate it as a routine element of national education curricula. Volunteerism and civic engagement of youth can bring tremendous value to local communities. The Philippines’ well-known ‘Check My School’ programme mobilizes youth volunteers to monitor educational resources in local schools to ensure accountability and responsiveness to community needs. The programme has become so successful partly because of a trusted partnership between youth and local governments, and a strong emphasis on transparency and publicly available information. The World Programme of Action on Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond is an overarching global framework for addressing youth issues, covering 15 thematic areas in a practical, action-oriented way. Drawing on this, Asia-Pacific countries have developed and refined their own national youth policies, which are now in place in most of countries in the region. More now needs to be done, however, to speed up implementation. TABLE 6.1: National laws, policies and actions plans on ageing in Asia-Pacific 190 Source: UNFPA and HelpAge International 2012a.
SUSTAINING <strong>HUMAN</strong> <strong>DEVELOPMENT</strong> ACROSS LONGER LIFESPANS Rapid ageing poses challenges and opportunities. All countries should recognize that an ageing population is inevitable and plan accordingly, but the need is particularly acute among those already at the forefront of change. People who are 60 years and above account for more than 12 percent of the population in 12 Asia-Pacific countries. 9 Ageing in the region is proceeding at rates much faster than it did in Western nations, including in countries that will be grey long before they are rich. For many older people, vulnerabilities associated with limited income are exacerbated by weak state-assistance systems and the disintegration of intergenerational families. Support needs to be geared up to protect their rights and well-being, in many cases requiring significant political commitment. Countries such as Japan and Thailand, where interministerial BOX 6.2: European countries prohibit age-related discrimination and support active ageing With a large population of older people, the European Union has developed a series of programmes and policies to safeguard their interests and rights. The EU Framework Directive legally prohibits discrimination in employment based on age, among other personal attributes. Excluding some specific occupations, a majority of European Union member states have abolished a compulsory retirement age, which helps to counter the labour loss from a shrinking population of working-age people. Other policies support active ageing, encouraging people to participate economically, provide care to family members, maintain healthy and independent lives, and find sustainable solutions related to health care, pensions and long-term care. The European Disability Strategy 2010-20 fosters equal access to goods and public services, including health services, by eradicating discrimination based on disability. Source: European Parliamentary Research Service 2014. councils and commissions on ageing oversee policy implementation, are moving in the right direction. New Zealand has appointed a minister for senior citizens. Establish a national ageing policy. Both the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and Agenda 2030 stress grounding strategies to support older people in their active empowerment and engagement, and upholding core principles such as equity, sufficiency and sustainability. Many Asia-Pacific countries have launched policies and/or action plans based on the rights of older persons to participate in development and acquire human development capabilities and opportunities (Table 6.1). Nearly 40 percent of countries have specific legislation on older persons. Some countries have adopted monitoring systems to assess the impacts of policies and laws on the elderly, as in China for the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Aged. Malaysia conducts surveys and research on ageing, including the Review of the National Policy and Plan of Action for Older Persons, which focuses on reintegration and increased participation of older persons in society. Given still considerable gap between policy and practice, however, a majority of countries need to prioritize implementation. Plans need to be backed by necessary resources and structured around clear goals. Results could build on better data, evidence and knowledge, such as can be collected through regular surveys on ageing. This will help decision makers attune policies to realities on the ground. Enact legislation to protect the elderly from discrimination. Ageing is a relatively new phenomenon in Asia-Pacific, and legal frameworks have not necessarily kept up with it. Some priority issues might include laws banning agebased discrimination, protecting the elderly against abuse in their homes or institutions, and guaranteeing essential service delivery and access to social security entitlements. Raising the age of retirement should be accompanied by laws to ensure that elderly people who need or choose to work will not face discrimination in employment. In crafting new statutes, countries can learn from experiences in regions at a more Stronger commitments are needed to manage non-communicable diseases 191
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ASIA-PACIFIC HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPO
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ASIA-PACIFIC HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPO
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FOREWORD We live in times of great
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Asia-Pacific H
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Table of Contents Foreword iii Pref
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1.15 Population age-composition is
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Acronyms ADB Asian Development Bank
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Overview SHAPING THE FUTURE: HOW CH
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HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA-PACIFIC:
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FIGURE 2: Wealthier countries tend
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a strong emphasis on protecting wor
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could provide job matching assistan
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Asia-Pacific leave the workforce at
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WHAT’S AHEAD IN THIS REPORT This
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Chapter 1 HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS
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sustainable, reaching everyone whil
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FIGURE 1.1: The Human Development I
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TABLE 1.1: Asia-Pacific still has l
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married couples to have children, a
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FIGURE 1.5: Population pyramids in
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FIGURE 1.8: The median age is high
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FIGURE 1.10: Disparities in fertili
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Improved overall human development
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TABLE 1.5: Countries in Asia-Pacifi
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“When relatively large generation
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38 Having fewer dependents on worki
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40 In developed Asia- Pacific, the
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TABLE 1.6: Demographic dividends fl
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44
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2. MORE PEOPLE AT WORK: THE FOUNDAT
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encouraged labour-intensive industr
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FIGURE 2.3: Peaks within subregions
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A DEMOGRAPHIC RETURN FOR HUMAN DEVE
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BOX 2.1: Women bear a larger burden
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FIGURE 2.8: Growth in labour produc
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WHAT’S BEEN LEARNED IN CHINA, JAP
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FIGURE 2.13: Japan is past its work
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FIGURE 2.15: Thailand still has tim
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make this a key aim of national dev
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investment climate, as well as enco
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TABLE 2.4: Shares of workers in the
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Even before leaving home, migrant w
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Promote health and safety at work:
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BOX 2.8: Malaysia transforms an ind
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of resilient infrastructure are joi
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Chapter 3 NURTURING CHILDREN, UNLOC
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Asia-Pacific is home to 1.7 billion
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Commendable progress in education m
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Quality primary education mitigates
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In most Asia-Pacific countries, sec
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Strong tertiary education is a buil
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FIGURE 3.3: Access to tertiary educ
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94 TABLE 3.9: Youth illiteracy has
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TABLE 3.11: Child mortality rates b
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BOX 3.7: Malnutrition and disabilit
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Despite social and economic progres
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FIGURE 3.8: The share of youth who
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104 Young migrants are highly vulne
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as an important challenge. But they
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TABLE 3.15: Some countries with lar
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Immunization saves children’s liv
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BOX 3.10: Germany’s vocational tr
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BOX 3.12: Partnering with youth in
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116
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4. AGEING SOCIETIES: NEW OPPORTUNIT
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FIGURE 4.1: Asia-Pacific is one of
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TABLE 4.1: East Asia is the oldest
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BOX 4.2: Responses to poverty among
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BOX 4.3: A plan of action for older
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FIGURE 4.9: Per capita health-care
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BOX 4.5: China moves towards univer
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TABLE 4.3: Social pensions are an i
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FIGURE 4.12: Pension replacement ra
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BOX 4.7: Increasing links between p
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Page 155 and 156: ment bodies, encourage regular inte
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Page 159 and 160: help coordinate the work of other g
Page 161 and 162: for older people. Many advanced cou
Page 163 and 164: action. Free public transport, and
Page 165: Chapter 5 TAPPING THE HUMAN DYNAMIS
Page 168 and 169: In the last 30 years, Asia-Pacific
Page 170 and 171: FIGURE 5.3: Even countries with few
Page 172 and 173: FIGURE 5.6: Most people will contin
Page 174 and 175: 160 Social, cultural and economic i
Page 176 and 177: The benefits of urbanization have n
Page 178 and 179: BOX 5.2: Pioneering urban poverty r
Page 180 and 181: vehicles on the road. Beijing issue
Page 182 and 183: Municipal governments in Asia-Pacif
Page 184 and 185: TABLE 5.4: Revenue mobilization opt
Page 186 and 187: 172 City governments need to have t
Page 188 and 189: Investing in essential infrastructu
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Page 192 and 193: BOX 5.9: The Republic of Korea emba
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Page 197 and 198: 6. AN AGENDA FOR ACTION: SHAPING TH
Page 199 and 200: Development Report argues, decent w
Page 201 and 202: with ministries overseeing youth, e
Page 203: This is an urgent priority in a reg
Page 207 and 208: plan automatically enrols people in
Page 209 and 210: BOX 6.3: Developing Delhi’s metro
Page 213 and 214: End Notes CHAPTER 1 1. UNFPA 2014b.
Page 215 and 216: 63. WHO 2014b. 64. UNFPA 2012. 65.
Page 217: produces 40 percent of total econom
Page 220 and 221: 206 The Asia Foundation. 2013. “T
Page 222 and 223: 208 CODI (Community Organizations D
Page 224 and 225: 210 Global Migration Group. 2014.
Page 226 and 227: 212 Janwani. 2010. “Annual Report
Page 228 and 229: 214 ———. 2012a. OECD Employme
Page 230 and 231: 216 ———. 2011. “Follow-up t
Page 232 and 233: 218 York. [www.unfpa.org/sites/defa
Page 234 and 235: ———. 2012c. Malaysia Economic
Page 236 and 237: tables include the Caribbean countr
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Page 240 and 241: TABLE 2: Trends in the Human Develo
Page 242 and 243: TABLE 4: Gender Inequality Index 22
Page 244 and 245: TABLE 6: Trends in income poverty,
Page 246 and 247: TABLE 8: Fertility rate and crude d
Page 248 and 249: TABLE 10: Trends and share of child
Page 250 and 251: TABLE 12: Trends and share of young
Page 252 and 253: TABLE 14: Trends and share of older
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TABLE 16: Education indicators and
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TABLE 17: Health indicators 242
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TABLE 18: Employment and unemployme
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TABLE 19: International trade, fina
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ABOUT ASIA-PACIFIC HUMAN DEVELOPMEN
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