Abstract

WELTI-CHANES, Carlos. Aging and social policy. Pap. poblac [online]. 2013, vol.19, n.77, pp.25-59. ISSN 2448-7147.

The purpose of this article is to point out that the age structure of a population constitutes the framework of social policy and over time, their actions must respond to the changes in this structure. However, in a situation of rapid population change, institutional arrangements may not correspond to the new demographic conditions and therefore, there is a gap between institutions and demographic structure. An example of this are the institutional arrangements that have given rise to the organizations responsible for social policy. In the case of Mexico, the article makes clear through a historical journey, that social policy has been focused on providing care to children and pregnant women, by the way, in the beginning as part of a population policy aimed to promote population growth. Just recently have been implemented social policy actions for a rapidly aging society that demands attention to the elderly, given the increase of their vulnerable conditions. Finally, the text describes some governmental programs dedicated to serving the needs of the elderly population.

Keywords : Social policy; ageing; age structure; vulnerability.