The Implications of Population Aging for Immigrant- and Gender-Related Attitudes

Population aging is an ongoing societal transformation that has major economic implications for countries worldwide at all stages of development. Various facets of this phenomenon have been explored over the years with a particular focus on the implications for economic development, pension schemes, and the welfare state in general. Yet, neither the social nor the cultural implications of population aging have received adequate attention. This chapter sheds light on whether and how population aging affects immigrant-related and gender-related attitudes. Population aging reduces the working-age population and increases the pool of the economically dependent old. These tendencies create a need for an expansion of the labor force to mitigate the adverse effects on aggregate output. To meet this challenge, policies that expand the domestic labor supply with immigrants and females are called for. However, the attitudes in the population toward these social groups will determine whether such policies are implemented and successful. The link between population aging and immigrant- and gender-related attitudes is also important because the process of population aging may change the prevailing attitudes in a society. Immigrant- and gender-related attitudes are a case in point. As the understanding of the economic necessity to expand the domestic labor force with immigrants and females spreads, the standing of these social groups is likely to increase and hence, the attitudes toward immigrants and females become more favorable. Through this channel, population aging itself may facilitate the implementation of policies that expand the labor supply with these social groups.