TY  - JOUR
AU  - Weil,David N.
TI  - Population Aging
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 12147
PY  - 2006
Y2  - April 2006
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12147
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12147.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
David N. Weil
Department of Economics
Box B
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401/863-1754
Fax: 401/863-1970
E-Mail: david_weil@brown.edu
AB  - Population aging is primarily the result of past declines in fertility, which produced a decades long period in which the ratio of dependents to working age adults was reduced. Rising old-age dependency in many countries represents the inevitable passing of this %u201Cdemographic dividend.%u201D  Societies use three methods to transfer resources to people in dependent age groups: government, family, and personal saving. In developed countries, families are predominant in supporting children, while government is the main source of support for the elderly. The most important means by which aging will affect aggregate output is the distortion from taxes to fund PAYGO pensions.
ER  -