Abstract
By 2050, 16% of the world’s population will be over the age of 65, which is nearly double the number of older persons currently alive in 2019. Population aging is a global phenomenon; however, most of the future increase (over 60%) will happen in the Global South (United Nations, 2019). “Global South” refers to the group of less economically developed countries in the world, juxtaposed to the “Global North,” or more economically developed countries. The Global South is composed of countries in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia and the Middle East. Population aging is a new phenomenon in the Global South, presenting a new set of challenges for governments enacting policies to ensure a good quality of life for all citizens. Aging in the Global South: Challenges and Opportunities provides an important overview of issues associated with aging in low- and middle-income countries and provides insightful policy recommendations. This edited volume highlights research from an emerging area in gerontological literature, as to date, most of the research on aging experiences comes from the Global North (p. x).
Population aging refers to the demographic process of declining fertility rates and/or increasing life expectancy, where the median age of a country increases (Poston et al., 2017). The increase in the proportion of older persons in a country brings to light many different questions about how they will be cared for and what opportunities will be available for them. The editors have combined nine research articles from six Global South countries (Brazil, Argentina, India, Nigeria, Thailand, and Philippines) bookended by an informative and well-written introduction and conclusion. The book covers many pressing issues facing aging persons in the Global South, including changes in social support, changing family structures, food security, healthcare access, migration and access to financial security. The research is conducted from a mix of methodologies including very traditional demographic techniques to mixed methods approaches, adding to the richness of the overall volume.
The introduction provides a foundation for understanding the global context in which these countries are experiencing this rapid demographic transition. Global South countries are experiencing this demographic shift at a much different stage of development than Global North countries, who were forerunners in population aging (p. ix). Global South countries’ governments face challenges in providing for older adults due to fragile health infrastructure, weak or nonexistent social programs, and overall stressed economies. The introduction discusses the current global policy landscape that is impacting these countries, highlighting the importance of using the World Health Organization’s framework of healthy aging to enact the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The editors make the case that development goals are “intrinsically tied” to the quality of life of older persons and understanding older adults’ social, economic, and political life is very important to make sound and meaningful social policy (p. xii). The conclusion of the volume provides a concise summary of key themes of heterogeneity of aging populations, impact of changing family structures, and security in later life. The editors also generously provide suggestions for future research.
An important and interesting theme of this edited volume is the discussion of the “heterogeneity” within and across aging populations. This discussion is of importance as older persons are often thought of as one dimensional, dependent, and docile beings. However, as other scholars have pointed out, this is just not true. Often in the Global South context, older adults are productive members of households providing caregiving and financial security to family members (Schatz et al., 2015; Schatz & Seeley, 2015). A highlight of this volume is a chapter examining health and health care access of older adults in the Nigerian prison system. This chapter focuses on the life situation of older adult prisoners, bringing attention to an understudied subpopulation of older adults. An additional chapter emphasizes the heterogeneity in living arrangements for older adults in India and the resulting impact on their happiness. Finally, a chapter investigating food security among Filipinos finds that older adults are active members contributing to their households and actively engage with strategies to combat food insecurity.
Another important aspect of this book is that each chapter is in conversation with social policies by discussing policy implications or by directly making policy recommendation to create more rigorous social safety nets for older adults. Chamchan’s chapter provides a detailed analysis of Thailand’s old age income support and security system and provides both short-term and long-term policy recommendations. Alejandria-Gonzalez makes insightful policy recommendations for the Filipino government to enact a more comprehensive retirement program that would benefit individuals with work experience in the informal economy to help combat food insecurity among older persons.
Overall, each chapter is focused on timely and important issues facing older adults in the Global South. However, the edited volume as a whole does suffer a few limitations. First, the book lacks in-depth attention to physical function and disabilities in later life. Several of the chapters do include aspects physical health in the analysis; however, it is not a primary theme of the book. Rates of disability are predicted to increase along with aging populations and should be key focus of social policy in the Global South (Gomez-Olive et al., 2017). Another limitation is a lack of attention to gender and its influence on the experience of aging. Though in the introduction the editors do mention that women are and will continue to comprise the majority of aging populations (p. ix), the volume lacks a clear and focused discussion of gender and women’s role in development.
In conclusion, this edited volume provides a solid investigation into the “understanding of the life situation” of older adults in the Global South (p. x). This volume not only focuses on research stemming from the Global South but all of its contributors are scholars from the Global South. While this edited volume is squarely rooted in the field demography, I believe this work will be accessible to scholars in gerontology, sociology, and related disciplines, providing readers with a strong foundation in the demographic processes driving future aging experiences.