The Gerontologist, Vol 34, Issue 6 743-748, Copyright © 1994 by The Gerontological Society of America

REVIEWS

A contingency-based approach for assessing policies on aging

RB Hudson
Boston University School of Social Work, MA 02215.

This article assesses the demographic and ideological shifts reshaping aging policy and proposes an approach to rethinking the bases of aging- based and aging-related policy. This approach takes into account new and multiple patterns of need and well-being among the old and, as such, holds the promise of providing both a defense of and a rationale for a range of age-related benefits. As well, it opens the possibility of shifting responsibilities for well-being in old age among government, the private sector, and individuals themselves.