Ageing Without Children

Among the principal consequences of rapid fertility declines are the changes in social and demographic structure known as population aging. Significantly smaller younger generations shift the overall balance of population towards older ages – a phenomenon that affects countries in all parts of the world. But relatively little is known about the situation of the elderly although many of them have particular and urgent needs. This study focuses on those elderly who are without children for a variety of reasons and therefore are lacking in family support networks in the face of shrinking or non-existent state welfare systems. Examining the very different cultural, economic, and political contexts, as done in this volume, opens up the opportunity for comparison of differing ways in which similar situations are confronted and constraints accommodated.