Sociology › Section M · Aging and the elderly › Topic M.1
Who are the elderly?
The United States, like most of the world, is growing older. Who counts as "old" is partly a social decision, and the size and make-up of the older population shape budgets, families and politics.
In this topic
- Who counts as old?
- Studying age: gerontology
- Not one group but several
- Cohorts and the baby boom
- The graying of the United States
- Why the population is ageing
- Worked example: how fast has the older population grown?
- Worked example: the dependency ratio
- Ageing around the world
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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