The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
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The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City: Economic Conditions for the Elderly in Singapore
Prepared By:
Tang Jiahui & Qian Ziyuan
NUS SM2 Batch 16, Group 1
Prepared For:
Dr. Lira Dumaguing
April 7, 2013
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The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
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Table of Contents
List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Results & Discussion ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Government Insurance ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Employment Situation ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10
Childrenâs Supportive Maintenance …………………………………………………………………….. 12
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 14
Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
3
List of Tables
Table 1: Ethnicity Distribution of Respondents…………………………………………………………….. 22
Table 2: Income Distribution of Respondents ………………………………………………………………. 22
List of Figures
Figure 1: The Participation Rate and Cognition of Social Insurance …………………………………. 8
Figure 2: People’s Opinions on Social and Business Insurance…………………………………………. 9
Figure 3: Evaluation of the Social Insurance ………………………………………………………………….. 9
Figure 4: Methods for the Improvement ………………………………………………………………………. 10
Figure 5: Employment Condition ……………………………………………………………………………….. 11
Figure 6: Satisfaction Extent of Income from Career …………………………………………………….. 11
Figure 7: Welfare System in Workplace ………………………………………………………………………. 11
Figure 8: Living Condition of Respondents………………………………………………………………….. 12
Figure 9: Age Distribution of Respondents ………………………………………………………………….. 22
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4
Abstract
The paper explores the economic conditions of the elderly in Singapore in three aspects: government insurance, employment situation and childrenâs supportive maintenance. The older adultsâ challenges in financial status have always been concerns. Thus, a research is needed to evaluate the age-friendliness of Singapore as well as detect problems in the elderlyâ economic conditions. In addition, the study is going to find out some possible approaches for Singapore to make progress in order to provide a more livable environment for the elderly.
A questionnaire survey was distributed to the undergraduates of National University of Singapore (NUS) and students from Jurong Junior College (JJC). Results of this research show that the governmentâs policies on social welfare and insurance system are not sufficient to satisfy peopleâs economic expectations. Moreover, late marriage and low fertility make the elderly unable to rely on their childrenâs maintenance. Thus, some recommendations such as completing a more vigorous social welfare system, enhancing individualsâ awareness on marriage, parenthood and family as well as lowering retirement age to a more reasonable level should be considered as solutions to improve the age-friendliness of Singapore.
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
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Economic Conditions for the Elderly in Singapore
Advanced medical care, declining birth rates, urbanization and better life quality have led to an increasing aging population in various cities especially in developed countries like Singapore. Statistics show that the number of the elderly aged 60 and above as a proportion of global population will double from 11% in 2006 to 22% by 2050 (World Health Organization, 2007, p. 3). This sweeping trend creates a new challenge for cities and governments: how to construct an age-friendly city to provide a comfortable living environment to the elderly. By referring to World Health Organization (2007, p. 5), a city that encourages active aging and achieve better life quality of the elderly by enhancing social participation, ensuring security and optimizing health care could be defined as an agefriendly city.
A comparatively good economic condition is regarded as an essential factor that contribute to the old individualsâ ability to survive and lead comfortable lives, which significantly helps society to achieve a successful aging stage. Wealth enables the elderly to purchase life necessities, maintain physical and mental well-beings through health care, and afford to engage in social activities, thus get a sense of belonging and self-satisfaction. However, a research of International Longevity Centre (2011) shows that there are approximately 155,000 older workers aged above 60 in Singapore, of which a substantially proportion are still employed as cleaners and laborers with lower income due to their declining productivity and efficiency. This high retirement age has a serious implication on older adultsâ challenges in finance and the governmentâs insufficient economic assistance. It should be the governmentâs responsibility to ensure the basic living demands for the elderly. However, The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City taking the responsibility requires scientific methods. To deal with the situation, a research needs to be conducted for finding out the current situation in order to provide the most effective solution to the existing problems.
The general purpose of the research is to find out what is the standard of evaluating the agefriendliness of a city as well as some possible approaches for cities to make progress in order to provide a more livable environment for the elderly. As a research conducted in Singapore, it is also related to the problems currently existing in Singapore about their economic condition.
By identifying the problems and creating solutions as well as recommendations, Singapore would be able to improve itself to be a more age-friendly city.
The report will cover three main aspects: government insurance, employment situation and childrenâs supportive maintenance. The recommendations will be made from the results of the data analysis. Finally, a short conclusion will be drawn in order to highlight the significance of the research and recommendations.
Methodology
This research was done by questionnaire surveys conducted in the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Jurong Junior College (JJC). Before launching the data collection procedure, team members searched for background information from website and library. The resources covered aspects about the criteria of aging-friendly cities and economic conditions of the elderly in Singapore. After generally detecting problems of aging peopleâs economic status in Singapore, a survey questionnaire was designed to investigate government
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
7
insurance, employment situation and childrenâs supportive maintenance towards the elderly, which aims to develop solutions to unsatisfactory economic conditions. Each group member was responsible for 45 surveys. The total collected sample size was 90, out of which 85 were eligible for analysis. Respondents comprised of Junior College studentsâ grandparents, NUS staffs and NUS undergraduatesâ parents or grandparents.
For more details about the questionnaire, raw data and respondents, please refer to the Appendices.
Results & Discussion
Government Insurance
One of the primary objectives of section 1 is to find out how old people in Singapore think of the social insurance. As presented in Figure 1, 67% of the participants have joined at least one or more social insurance. However, more than two thirds of them (67%) do not have an essential understanding of what is social insurance. This implies that the elderly in Singapore lack awareness of the significance of social insurance. This is possibly due to the low participation rates of social insurance as only 9% who have not taken any social insurance can understand them well. Another reason can be that the government has not popularized enough knowledge about social insurance as nearly one thirds who join in insurance only have a superficial understanding.
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
No, and has
rather superficial
understanding.
24.32%
Yes, and I can
understand them
well.
29.73%
No, but I can
understand them
well.
9.46%
Yes, but has
rather superficial
understanding.
36.49%
Figure 1: The Participation Rate and Cognition of Social Insurance
Figure 2 shows that, when comparing social insurance and business insurance, two thirds of people prefer to choose social insurance. A majority of the respondents give the reasons that they trust in the government and business insurance costs too much. In the meantime, a significant number of people (67%) do think that the social welfare provided by the government can merely satisfy the basic demands of life (see Figure 3). This implies that generally Singapore government has credibility and prestige among people but what the government has provided cannot fully meet peopleâs needs. Additionally, comparing with western countries and other Asian countries, the efforts Singapore government put in social welfare are much lower. (Bhaskaran, et al., 2012) Moreover, the results of our analysis also provide further support for why the enhancement of the public welfare should be raised by the government in order to improve the life quality of the elderly.
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The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
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Business
insurance
34.38%
Social insurance
65.63%
Figure 2: People’s Opinions on Social and Business Insurance
no support from
the government
at all.
1.35%
Wholesome
social inruance
mechanism
13.51%
Insufficient
suppor from the
government.
18.92%
The support
from the
government can
merely satisfy
the basic
demands of life.
67.57%
Figure 3: Evaluation of the Social Insurance
As seen in Figure 4, the number of people who choose to enhance the societyâs welfare and establish a wholesome social insurance mechanism is equal to those who prefer the society to provide more job opportunities to the elderly. This shows peopleâs hope to both the
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10
government and the society for setting up adequate insurance systems to improve living condition of the elderly.
Providing more
job
opportunities
49%
Enhance the
societyâs
welfare
51%
Figure 4: Methods for the Improvement
Employment Situation
Section 2 mainly focuses on employment situations of the elderly in Singapore. From Figure 5, 64 out of 85 participants are still working now. Moreover, among those who have a job, 74% of them are satisfied with the net income from their jobs without the support from the government or offspring (see Figure 6). According to the background information provided above, most of our respondents are 60 to 70 years old and some of them are 70 years old, however most of the elderly are still under employment. We can infer that in Singapore, the retirement age may be very high. Meanwhile, most of the old people are satisfied with the income of their job and this could result in their indifference to social insurance (Social Science Computing Cooperate, 2010).
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Very
Not satisfied
satisfied 4.71%
21.18%
Retired
24.71%
Still
Working
75.29%
Figure 5: Employment Condition
Satisfied
74.12%
Figure 6: Satisfaction Extent of Income from Career
Figure 7 shows that although most of the elderly are satisfied with their jobs, less than one fifth of the workplaces have established the welfare system. The welfare situation was also documented by Ng (2011) that old people are thought to steal jobs from the young and that leads to little welfare provided to the elderly. The welfare provided to the old is far away from what it should be. To make up for this deficiency, more attention should be paid to the improvement of the work conditions of the elderly.
Don’t know
2.35%
0.00%
Yes,there is
welfare system.
14.12%
No, there is no
welfare system
in my
workplace
83.53%
Figure 7: Welfare System in Workplace
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
12
Childrenâs Supportive Maintenance
It can be seen from Figure 8 that more than half of the respondents live with their children but without their financial support. By referring to their age distribution, a clear trend illustrates that most of these respondents are from 40 to 60 years old, implying that their children are still in college or at the beginning stage of their career and actually need financial support from their parents rather than supporting them.
live alone
without
children’s
support
7.06%
Live alone but
with children’s
support
8.24%
Others
8.24%
Live with
children and
their support
23.53%
Live with
children but
without their
support
52.94%
Figure 8: Living Condition of Respondents
According to Jones (2012), the competitive global economy in Singapore requires long working hours, which makes singles dedicate to their career and have little time to consider their marriage. Consequently, the high priority of material success and financial stability leads to late marriage and low fertility in Singapore. (Jones, 2012) When this group of people go into old age, their childrenâs supportive maintenance cannot be considered as an effective method to sustain their economic demands. Moreover, they may even need to provide support for their childrenâs growth or career as responsible parents. Therefore, this non-negligible
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
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aging group is in need of the governmentâs subsidy. Public assistance may be a crucial solution for relieving this aging group from the problem of not having financial support from their young children; however, it is not sufficient to sustain basic life for all old people in Singapore (International Longevity Centre Singapore, 2011). In short, the government may pay more attention to public assistance and support in order to construct an age-friendly city to the elderly in Singapore.
However, the data of this research can be more accurate because there are still some constraints and limitations. As the questionnaire survey is mainly conducted in junior colleges, parents of junior college students constitute a certain part of the respondents, which may cause the imbalanced age structure in the sample. Moreover, many participants are approached in workplaces and it may influence the ratio of employment in the result, since a relatively large proportion of them are likely to work nearby. Lastly, the size of the sample is small. After excluding the invalid sample data, only 85 samples remained, and this sample size is too small to accurately represent the entire image of the Singapore elderlyâ economic status.
In summary, some inferences can be made based on the statistics gathered in
the survey. Singapore government has a high prestige and people are willing to take part in governmentguaranteed insurance and the government should continue expanding its covering surface. It is undeniable that a number of the elderly need to work to feed themselves, which is to some extent resulted from the competitiveness in the city, thus building up welfare systems in workplaces has never been so essential.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the participation rate of social insurance in Singapore is not high: people lack the awareness as well as adequate knowledge about the social insurance and welfare system; the elderly still need to go out to work despite the old age in order to maintain their basic needs. However, they still highly value the government and hope that the authority can bring positive changes to the current social system.
The research indicates that the governmentâs policy as well as the social welfare and insurance systems are not efficient enough for satisfying the elderlyâ financial needs in Singapore. It emphasizes the necessity to improve public awareness and the government policies, which significantly highlights the importance to construct an age-friendly city and gives out some relevant recommendations to solve the problems in current situation.
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Recommendations
Enhancing awareness of individual and changing policies in society and the government level to improve the elderlyâ economic condition are recommended as essential social approaches given their priority to the primary origin of problems.
From the aforementioned findings, the report recommends further work as follows: ï
Completing a more vigorous social welfare system.
Well-designed social security could be achieved with elaborative establishment of social insurance among the governmental protection system. According to the governmental economic report, it is fundamental for Singapore to expand its social insurance system in order to cultivate a sense of citizenship and consolidation (Whitbourne, 2007). Positive governmental policies like enhancing subsidies to cover enterprise losses or promoting participation in labor force security could effectively enhance the interior cohesive force of the society. ï
Lowering retirement age to a more reasonable level.
With the increasing life expectancy, a successful career should also provide a solid basis for enabling individuals to spend twenty years (or more) enjoying their retirement years (Whitbourne, 2007). However, the elderly suffer from inequality and get less attention in workplace due to their decreasing productivity. It should be the governmentâs responsibility to complete welfare and insurance system to improve aging individualsâ financial condition, instead of ignoring and letting the
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
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elderly work at a high age. A possible effective social welfare system could be letting current workers to pay tax as âsocial insurance feeâ and the government can then pay them back after their retirement age.
ï
Enhancing individualsâ awareness on marriage, parenthood and family.
Throughout our life, interactions with family, partner and children have significant meanings in onesâ developing process (Whitbourne, 2007). Childrenâs support is a crucial source of the elderlyâ finance. Marrying a spouse at a strategic time and successfully going on to parenthood could significantly reduce peopleâs economic pressure in their old age.
ï
Doing further researches on other related aspects.
According to World Health Organization (2007), an age-friendly city should fulfill various features such as infrastructures, medical care and social inclusion. Economic status is only one aspect thus further research should be done to measure the age-friendliness of Singapore in order to depict a full image of current situation and improve it more thoroughly.
(1979 words)
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References
Bhaskaran, M., Ho, C. S., Low, D., Tan, S. K., Vadaketh, S., & Yeoh, K. L. (2012). Background Paper Inequality and the Need for a New Social Compact. Retrieved from http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/ips/docs/events/p2012/SP2012_Bkgd%20Pa.pdf
International Longevity Centre Singapore. (2011). A Profile of Older Men and Older Women in Singapore 2011. Singapore: International Longevity Centre Singapore.
Jones, G. (2012, Mar). Late marriage and low fertility in Singapore: the
limits of policy. The Japanese Journal of Population, 10(1), pp. 89-101.
Ng, H. K. (2011, Sept 26). Four Fallacies about the Singapore Welfare State. Retrieved from http://www.social-dimension.com/2011/09/four-fallacies-about-the-singapore-
Social Science Computing Cooperate. (2010). Compensating Wage Differentials. Retrieved from
Whitbourne, S. K. (2007). Adult Development & Aging. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
World Health Organization. (2007). Global Age-friendly Cities: A Guide. Geneva: WHO Press.
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
18
Appen di ces
Appendix A
Questionnaire
Dear Participant:
We are pre-matriculation students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) doing our research project as partial fulfillment for our English Language module. The objective of this survey is to gather information about elder Singaporeansâ economic condition to reflect the problems and merits of age-friendly city construction in Singapore. The result of the survey will be used for the research project to be submitted to the Center for English Language Communication.
Please help us by completing the questionnaire. To ensure confidentiality, please do not identify yourself in any way on the questionnaire, that is, do not give us your name, identification card number, address and contact
number.
Thank you very much for your assistance!
Faithfully,
Zhou Fangqiu, Tang Jiahui, Wang Yu, Qian Ziyuan
Section 1: Basic Background
40 ~ 50 years old 50 ~ 60 years old 60 ~ 70 years old 70 years old and above Age
Below
1,000$ ~
1,000$/ month 2,000$/ month
2,000$ ~
3,000$/ month
3,000$ ~
4,500$/ month
Above
4,500$/ month
Income level
Ethnicity: ________________
Employment agency (optional):________________.
Section 2:
1. Social insurance has been defined as a program where risks are transferred to and pooled by an organization, often governmental, that is legally required to provide certain benefits. Have you ever joined in any social insurances? How much do you know about them? A. Yes, and I can understand them well.
B. Yes, but has rather superficial understanding.
C. No, but I can understand them well.
D. No, and has rather superficial understanding.
2. Comparing social insurance with business insurance, which one do you
prefer? Why? A. Social insurance
B. Business insurance
Your reasons: _______________________________________________. 3. How do you evaluate the governmentsâ support (like social welfare, retirement allowance, insurance, etc.) for the elderly?
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
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A. Wholesome, I am able to lead a high-quality life only depends on governmental support. B. The support from the government can merely satisfy the basic demands of my life. C. The support from the government is insufficient to support my life. D. There is no support from the government at all.
E. Others (Please specify) _____ ________________________________. 4. Do you prefer the government to enhance the societyâs welfare and establish a wholesome social insurance mechanism or give more job opportunities for the elderly? A. Enhance the societyâs welfare and establish a wholesome social insurance mechanism. B. Providing more job opportunities to the elderly.
Section 3:
5. Are you currently employed? (If yes, then please continue with the following questions in this section. If not, you do not have to finish this part.)
A. Yes, I am still working now.
B. No, I am already retired.
6. Are you satisfied with the net income directly from your jobs (that is the income without other sources like governmental support and support from offspring, etc.)? A. Very satisfied.
B. Satisfied.
C. Not satisfied.
7. Is there any welfare system for the elderly at your workplace? A. Yes. Please specify: _____________________________________. B. No
8. How much do you earn directly from your work monthly? (This is a voluntary question, if you do not want to provide the information, you do not have to finish this question) _______________ Dollars per month.
Section 4:
9. How many children do you have?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. More. Please specify:
10. Which living condition best describes where you are now? A. I live with my children and they support my basic needs.
B. I live with my children without their support.
C. I live alone, but my children come to visit me and give me some pension that is sufficient to support my basic needs monthly.
D. I live alone, but my children come to visit me a few times a year and give me some pension but it is not sufficient to support my life.
E. Others. Please specify: ____________________________________________. Thank you for your cooperation!
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
Appendix B
Raw Data
Section 1
Age
40-50
13
14.86%
50-60
25
29.73%
60-70
29
33.78%
70+
18
21.62%
1K-
13
14.86%
1K-2K
17
20.27%
2K-3K
18
21.62%
3K-4.5K
21
24.32%
4.5K+
16
18.92%
Chinese
60
70.27%
Malay
11
13.51%
Indian
14
16.22%
Yes, Understand
25
29.73%
Yes, Not Quite
31
36.49%
No, Understand
8
9.46%
No, Not Quite
21
24.32%
Social Insurance
56
65.88%
Business Insurance
29
34.12%
4 – Very Satisfied
11
13.51%
3
57
67.57%
2
16
18.92%
1 – Not Satisfied
1
1.35%
Income
Ethnicity
Others
Section 2
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
20
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
Welfare
43
51.35%
Job Opportunities
42
50.00%
Yes, Still Working
64
75.29%
No, Retired
21
24.71%
Satisfied with Job Income
4
4.71%
Relatively Satisfied
63
74.12%
Not Satisfied
18
21.18%
Yes, Have Welfare
12
14.12%
No
71
83.53%
Don’t know
2
2.35%
With Children and Support
20
23.53%
With Children but No Support
45
52.94%
Alone but with Support
7
8.24%
Alone and without Support
6
7.06%
Others (No Children)
7
8.24%
Section 3
Q5
Q6
Q7
Section 4
Q10
21
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
Appendix C
Respondents Information
The income and ethnicity distribution of respondentsâ are shown in Table 1 and Table 2 below, which illustrates that the surveys were conducted on a well-covered sample of respondents from different income levels and three main ethnical groups of Singapore. Table 1: Ethnicity Distribution of Respondents
Ethnicity
Chinese
Malay
Indian
Respondents (%)
70.27%
13.51%
16.22%
Table 2: Income Distribution of Respondents
Income Level
$1000-
$1000~$2000
$2000~$3000
$3000~$4500
$4500+
Respondents (%)
14.86%
20.27%
21.62%
24.32%
18.92%
The age distribution of respondents containing NUSâs the elderly and JJC studentsâ grandparents is shown in Figure 9.
40.00%
35.00%
60~70
33.78%
30.00%
50~60
29.73%
25.00%
20.00%
70+
21.62%
15.00%
10.00%
40~50
14.86%
5.00%
0.00%
40~50
50~60
60~70
Age
Figure 9: Age Distribution of Respondents
70+
22
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23
Appendix D
Annotated Bibliography
Bibliography on Introduction:
ï
International Longevity Centre Singapore. (2011). A Profile of Older Men and Older Women in Singapore 2011. Singapore: International Longevity Centre Singapore. Summary:
In this book, âA profile of older men and older women in Singapore 2011â, International Longevity Centre (2011) fully depicts the image of elderâs
employment situation in the chapter called âEconomic Statusâ. By comparing the workersâ gender ratio, occupation types, monthly income, ILC points out the serious implications of the phenomenon. It shows the low economic status for elders above 60 year old in Singapore society; however, a large portion of them still maintain their financial need and life necessity by working. Indeed, CPF, pension and public assistance should play a more important role for older persons.
Photocopy (On next page):
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
ï
World Health Organization. (2007). Global Age-friendly Cities: A Guide. Geneva: WHO Press.
Summary:
In this book, âGlobal Age-friendly Cities, A Guideâ, World Health Organization (2007) examines a global age-friendly cities in various aspects, including life course, family and community health and so on. In the first chapter that we cited, WHO defines some key term involved in this research and introduces the general background of the global age-friendly cities. It illustrates a rapid increasing trend in aging individuals in the near five decades. Moreover, the idea of an age-friendly city and its criteria for judging whether a city is age-friendly or not are presented in this part. An active ageing was considered to relate with policies, services, settings and structures. Furthermore, characteristic feature of an age-friendly city are listed to give readers a general impression of how it functions. It consists of economic determinants, social determinants, physical environment, personal determinants, behavioral determinants and health and social services, which are the basic features in the age-friendly cities framework.
Photocopy (On next page):
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
ï
Singapore Ministry of Social and Family Development. (2009). State of the Elderly in Singapore. Retrieved from:
http://app.msf.gov.sg/Portals/0/Summary/research/State%20of%20the%20Elderly_Relea se%201.pdf
Summary:
This paper discusses the aging population in Singapore over a diversity of aspects. By analyzing detailed statistics and using diagrams the paper illustrates the changes of the aging population over more than half a century. As shown in the figures, the amount of the elderly is increasing as well as their average year, while the aging index implies the rising ole dependency ratio. However, by the indicator of support ratio, there is a speed gap between the aging population and the working population. In addition, the paper figures gender proportion, ethnic composition, marital status and educational attainment of the aged, as well as other indicators.
ï
World Health Organization. (2007). Checklist of Essential Features of Age-friendly Cities.
The Problems and Solutions in Building an Age-friendly City
Bibliography on Government Insurance:
ï
Bhaskaran, M., Ho, C. S., Low, D., Tan, S. K., Vadaketh, S., & Yeoh, K. L. (2012). Background Paper Inequality and the Need for a New Social Compact. Retrieved from:
http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/ips/docs/events/p2012/SP2012_Bkgd%20Pa.pdf Summary:
In his article ‘ Background Paper Inequality and the Need for a New Social Compact’, Bhaskaran, M., Ho, C. S., Low, D., Tan, S. K., Vadaketh, S., & Yeoh, K. L. (2012) study about the background information about the income equality in Singapore. They mainly analyze the relationship between wages and technological changes, globalization and policy factors. Then they draw the conclusion that the financial situation in Singapore goes against the elderly and it is becoming tougher for the old to have a basic income by work in the competition with the young. :ï
Social Science Computing Cooperate. (2010). Compensating Wage Differentials. Retrieved from:
Summary:
In this article ‘Compensating Wage Differentials’, SSCC (Social Science Computing Cooperate) emphasizes the factors that affect the labor market. As Prof Smith points out that the job characteristics, compensating wage differentials and even gender all have a great influence on the market equilibrium. So the relationship between wage and work condition is obvious. To attract enough workers, the companies at least need to provide either enough wage or pleasant work condition. However, which one workers will choose is depending on themselves.