Question

In many countries, people are living longer than ever before. Some people say an ageing population creates problems for governments. Other people think there are benefits if society has more elderly people. To what extent do the advantages of having an ageing population outweigh the disadvantages?

Model Answer

Due to improvements in medicine and diet, people in developed countries often live until they are at least 80. Combined with other factors such as the post-war baby boom and a declining birthrate, it means we are now faced with an increasingly elderly population. This trend will no doubt cause some short-term problems, but I believe it is a positive development as it will eventually cause a reduction in the overall global population.

The main advantage to society of an ageing population is that the overall population will decline over time. A reduction in population would alleviate many of the problems the world is currently facing, for example those associated with food and energy shortages. Another benefit of more old people is an increase in intergenerational households. These households can share the burdens of childcare more easily, meaning both parents can go out to work.

In the short term, however, there are also challenges associated with an ageing population. Older people generate less tax revenue than people of working age whilst also consuming more resources. As a result, people of working age are required to pay proportionally more tax in order to balance the government's budget. However, improvements in technology mean that this is not an insurmountable problem. Workers who retire can be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence, thereby increasing overall productivity.

In conclusion, there are both advantages and disadvantages to having an ageing population. In the short-term it requires some economic reorganisation but in the long-term it has the benefit of reducing population levels.

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