Population Aging and the Generational Economy

Instructors

OGAWA, Naohiro

Credits / Language / Semester

2Credits / English / Winter

Objectives/Overview

Population explosion was the central demographic problem of the 20th century, but population aging is likely to take that spot in the 21st century. In the first half of this course, we shall examine causes and consequences of fertility declines and mortality improvements that have occurred in the past 20 to 30 years by focusing primarily on socio-economic changes. In doing so we shall cover not only Japan but also other various countries, both developed and developing. In the second half of the course we shall quantitatively assess the macroeconomic impact of age structural changes induced by fertility and mortality transformations and also examine their micro-level influence on family finances. The method employed will be the National Transfer Accounts (NTA), which have recently been introduced in 40 countries of the world. These analyses will be conducted from the standpoint of formulating and implementing policies and will not rely solely on the results for Japan, but for other countries participating in the global NTA project as well.

Keywords

Labor income, public/private consumption, human capital, intergenerational and intragenerational transfers

Schedule

1. Population aging and the generational economy: A brief introduction
2. Economics of population growth (1)
3. Economics of population growth (2)
4. Malthus and fertility theory (1)
5. Malthus and fertility theory (2)
6. Becker and fertility analysis (1)
7. Becker and fertility analysis (2)
8. Japan's efforts to raise its fertility and mortality improvements
9. Discussions of the topics of the term paper
10. Discussions of the topics of the term paper
11. The impact of changing age structures on intergenerational transfers (1)
12. The impact of changing age structures on intergenerational transfers (2)
13. Introduction to National Transfer Accounts
14. National Transfer Accounts and cost of children
15. National Transfer Accounts and cost of the elderly

Teaching Methods

For each topic, an introductory lecture will be delivered by the instructor, followed by power-point presentations by students and/or group discussions.

Grading

Depending upon the number of students enrolled in this class, grade system of this course will be determined at the beginning of the semester.

Required Text

None

Reference Books

Reading assignments will be given when necessary.

Reference Books:Ronald Lee and Andrew Mason eds. (2011) Population Aging and the Generational Economy: A Global Perspective, Cheltenham, UK, and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar. The book can be downloaded from the following IDRC website http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Pages/IDRCBookDetails.aspx?PublicationID=987.

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