Health at Older Ages: The Causes and Consequences of Declining Disability Among the Elderly

David M. Cutler · David A. Wise

may 2009 · University of Chicago Press

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Americans are living longer—and staying healthier longer—than ever before. Despite the rapid disappearance of pensions and health care benefits for retirees, older people are healthier and better off than they were twenty years ago. In Health at Older Ages, a distinguished team of economists analyzes the foundations of disability decline, quantifies this phenomenon in economic terms, and proposes what might be done to accelerate future improvements in the health of our most elderly populations.

This breakthrough volume argues that educational attainment, high socioeconomic status, an older retirement age, and accessible medical care have improved the health and quality of life of seniors. Along the way, it outlines the economic benefits of disability decline, such as an increased rate of seniors in the workplace, relief for the healthcare system and care-giving families, and reduced medical expenses for the elderly themselves. Health at Older Ages will be an essential contribution to the debate about meeting the medical needs of an aging nation.

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David M. Cutler is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics and Dean for the Social Sciences at Harvard University, and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is the author of Your Money or Your Life.

David A. Wise is the John F. Stambaugh Professor of Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School and director of the program on aging at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is the coeditor of Analyses in the Economics of Aging, also published by the University of Chicago Press.