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Positive Implications of Ageing for Indian Families: Aged as an Asset

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Abstract

If ageing is to be a positive experience, the increase in longevity must be simultaneously accompanied by an increase in opportunities for health, participation, and security. Active ageing is the process to achieve this objective.

In order to achieve active ageing, certain conditions must be satisfied, of which engagement in the labour market is an important condition. This chapter reviews the literature on labour market engagement of the aged Indians.

Most of the studies report that the aged workers are engaged in the informal sector. Further, they are concentrated in low-paying occupations. Even within such occupational categories, they earn less than that of the near-elderly workers (aged 55–59 years). It also appears that there is substantial discrimination against aged workers.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    If an individual is identified as a worker for the major part of the year, he/she is categorized as a worker on the basis of the usual principal status.

  2. 2.

    If an individual is identified as a worker only for a minor part of the year, he/she is categorized as a worker on the basis of subsidiary status.

  3. 3.

    It is the activity status obtained for a person during a reference period of 7 days preceding the date of survey.

  4. 4.

    Alemayehu and Warner estimate that lifetime health costs are USD 316,600, of which about half are incurred in the senior years. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361028/

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Husain, Z. (2020). Positive Implications of Ageing for Indian Families: Aged as an Asset. In: Active Ageing and Labour Market Engagement. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0583-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0583-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-0582-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-0583-6

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