The world's population is rapidly aging. Globally, it is estimated that adults aged 60 and above will comprise 13.6% of the population by 2020 and 22.1% of the population by 2050. As the global population ages, there will be a large number of older adults who are relatively healthy and wish to stay actively engaged. In addition, the contributions of older adults will be increasingly necessary for the social and economic development of families, communities, and society. Productive aging refers to this active engagement of older adults in society.
CSD's productive aging work seeks to advance research and policy innovations in productive aging in the US and abroad:
- In its foundational work on productive aging, CSD analyzes the level of engagement of older adults in productive activities like volunteering, working, or caregiving, and the impact of these activities on older adults' health and mental health.
- Through research on institutional capacity and institutional determinants, CSD investigates the structural mechanisms and policies that facilitate older adults' knowledge of, access to, and motivation to participate in service opportunities.
- CSD's research on Experience Corps, an inter-generational tutoring program, demonstrates the positive impacts of older adults' service on the communities they serve and on their own health and well-being.