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The Social Creation of Poverty and Dependency in Old Age*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2009

Alan Walker
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Abstract

This article examines in detail some recent data on the living standards of elderly people. It is argued that poverty is related to low resources and restricted access to resources and therefore the article includes summarized information about a wide range of benefits and services. Questions are raised concerning the various social policies and processes which have contributed to the creation of poverty and dependency in old age. The growing importance of retirement is singled out for attention as one significant factor contributing to the depressed social status of the elderly, and as part of the general tendency in British society to devalue the worth of elderly people. It is this social relationship between age and the labour market which deserves attention from policy-makers, who have tended to concentrate on the consequences rather than the causes of dependency.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , January 1980 , pp. 49 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

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References

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40 There is no space here for a consideration of social policies directed towards younger adults outside the labour market. Clearly any analysis of dependent status raises a wide range of policy issues in the spheres of industrial organization and wage determination. Debates about those who are better off out of work than in work – usually poorly paid men with children – are carried out solely in terms of supply characteristics such as the individual's attitude to work, as opposed to demand characteristics such as firms’ recruitment policies.

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83 This link is considered in more detail in Walker, A., ‘From Impairment to Handicap’, draft article, 1979.Google Scholar

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88 This point is considered in more detail in Walker, A., ‘Dependency and Community Care in Old Age’, draft article, 1979.Google Scholar