Conference Paper

The fiscal impact of population change: discussion

Abstract: Ronald Lee and Ryan Edwards have provided a comprehensive analysis of the prospective budgetary implications of the aging of the U. S. population over the period to 2100. They cover a lot of ground but two major points stand out: Their analysis suggests that the budget pressures that aging will imply will be intense and very possibly greater than many other analyses would suggest; and the most important pressure is less likely to come from Social Security payments of old-age pensions than from demand for medical care. Their most important policy message relates to the need for policymakers and the wider public to be educated to the realities aging will imply, in order to facilitate the difficult decisions that will be needed. I can only endorse this message and note that the necessary decisions become more difficult as they are delayed.

Keywords: Economic conditions; Demography;

Status: Published in Seismic shifts: the economic impact of demographic change

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Part of Series: Conference Series ; [Proceedings]

Publication Date: 2001

Volume: 46