| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (51 min. 59 sec.) ; 313210865 bytes |
| Summary |
The two-part series, Baby Boom to Bust addresses one of the biggest issues of our time: global ageing.The world has hit an extraordinary turning point. For the first time in history old people outnumber the young on our planet. Today, one in every ten persons is over 60. By 2050 it will be one out of five - over two billion people. In some developed countries there are so many elderly and so few births that the population is actually dying off. And in parts of the developing world, the numbers of old people are growing at an even more astounding rate. Now with the huge middle age baby boomer generation on the cusp of old age, some experts predict our worst nightmares could be just around the corner - an entire society of frail, chronically ill old people with no hope, no savings and totally dependent on government assistance. Coupled with declining birth rates in the West, there won't be enough young people around to foot the bill. Without serious cutbacks in entitlements, our social, political and health care systems will be unable to cope. The global economy will collapse. But others say these dire predictions are wrong - that increased longevity and lower birth rates are not a problem but a remarkable success story that enables people in the developed world to live healthier and more productive lives. Instead of old people becoming a drain on resources, some economists believe that their financial contribution to society actually outweighs what they receive.As the battlelines are drawn, the questions being raised are critical: What impact will global ageing have on the economy and our way of life? Baby Boom to Bust looks at the looming social, political, economic and human impact of a rapidly ageing society. The first episode, Missing Children, takes viewers to four countries all grappling with declining birth-rates and potential economic decline: Catholic Italy, a country devoted to family, has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. In Japan there are now more dogs than young children. Australian women in their 30s are finding it harder than ever to find a man who'll commit to a relationship and family. And in China the government's 'one-child' policy has taken the country from one extreme to another within a generation. (Commissioned by SBS, in Chinese, English, Italian and Japanese, English subtitles) (Documentary Series) G CC WS |
| Event |
Broadcast 2010-02-15 at 15:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Age distribution (Demography) -- Forecasting.
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Birth control -- Government policy.
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Fertility, Human -- Statistics.
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Population geography -- Economic aspects.
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Population -- Social aspects.
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Australia.
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China.
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Japan.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Bare, Ili, director
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Harper, Sarah, contributor
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Jackson, Richard, contributor
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Morice, Tara, cast
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Tomassini Urti, Cecilia, contributor
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