Pension Reform, Civil Society, and Old Age Security in Latin America

Abstract

Twenty-four papers, originally presented at the September 2013 International Conference on Aging in the Americas held at the University of Texas at Austin, examine the overall aging population and the increasing influence of Latinos, including the changing demographics in Mexico and its impact on the health and financial well-being of aging Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Papers discuss the growing importance of educational attainment and retirement security of Mexican-origin adults in the United States and in Mexico; how the future of Hispanics may determine the socioeconomic future of the United States; how the train has left the station--Latino aging in the New South; work and the welfare state--labor market activity of Mexican-origin seniors; aging and retirement security in the United States and Mexico; new data and methodological approaches on aging research in Mexico and the United States; self-employment, health insurance, and return migration of middle-aged and elderly Mexican males; lifelines--the implications of migrant remittances and transnational elder care for the financial security of low-income Hispanic immigrants in the United States; dementia informal caregiving in Latinos--what the qualitative literature reveals; the prevalence and determinants of falls among older Mexicans-- findings from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey; binational migration perspectives--Mexico, Latin America, and the United States; the demography of the elderly in the Americas--the case of the United States and Mexico; access to medical care and family arrangements among Mexican elderly immigrants living in the United States; intergenerational transfers in urban Mexico--the residential location of children and their siblings; Texas self-help informal settlement and colonia housing conditions, aging, and health status; achieving sobriety among Latino older adults; the profile of Mexican elder migration flow into the United States (2004-13); an overview of policy responses, political realities, and cross-national variations--responding to the health and social needs of the Latino century; a profile of preretirement age Hispanics in the Medicaid and private insurance markets--expanding vs. nonexpanding states; racial and ethnic disparities in willingness to pay for improved health--evidence from the aging population; the economic security of Latino baby boomers--implications for future retirees and for health care funding in the United States; the present state of elder care in Mexico; pension reform, civil society, and old age security in Latin America; and the politics of aging in a majority-minority nation. Vega is at the University of Southern California. Markides is at The University of Texas Medical Branch. Angel is at The University of Texas at Austin. Torres-Gil is in the School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles. No index.