Abstract:

A collection of essays by international scholars reflecting multidisciplinary perspectives on issues of generational & age group relationships, published as part of the Social Institutions & Social Change series (Michael Useem & James D. Wright, series editors), & presented in V PARTS containing 13 Chpts with a Preface & a Foreword by Bernice L. Neugarten. PART I - CONCEPTUAL AND CONTEXTUAL ISSUES IN THE CURRENT "GENERATIONAL" DEBATE - offers (1) Vern L. Bengtson - Is the "Contract across Generations" Changing? Effects of Population Aging on Obligations and Expectations across Age Groups - analyzes the traditional contract concerning aging & succession within social groups & predicts greater age group conflicts in the future; & (2) W. Andrew Achenbaum - Generational Relations in Historical Context - presents three different case studies illustrating the importance of the historical context of generational research & argues that generational relations represent a series of negotiations. PART II - SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF THE GENERATIONAL CONTRACT - provides (3) Maris A. Vinovskis - An Historical Perspective on Support for Schooling by Different Age Cohorts - test the hypothesis that children have been allocated less public expenditure than older adults by tracing changes from colonial times to the twentieth century in voting patterns to underwrite expenditures to public schools; (4) Richard A. Easterlin, Diane J. Macunovich, & Eileen M. Crimmins - Economic Status of the Young and Old in the Working-Age Population, 1964 and 1987 - compares the material standard of living of the baby-boom generation to that of previous generations to show that it has advanced at roughly the same rate; & (5) Judith Treas & Wei Wang - Of Deeds and Contracts: Filial Piety Perceived in Contemporary Shanghai - analyzes late-life intergenerational relations in the People's Republic of China through survey data collected in 1983 from 613 elderly urban residents, & in 1985 from 609 elderly rural residents. PART III - AGE COHORTS IN CONFLICT? - includes (6) Nancy Foner - When the Contract Fails: Care of the Elderly in Nonindustrial Culture - examines ethnographic reports from nonindustrial cultures to explore intergenerational soldidarity & comity, revealing a sense of dependence by the elderly & questioning the stereotype of the "valued elder"; (7) Victor W. Marshall, Fay Lomax Cook, & Joanne Gard Marshall - Conflict over Intergenerational Equity: Rhetoric and Reality in a Comparative Context - analyzes the content of North American print media to explore intergenerational equity, concluding that more attention is given to issues of younger than older populations; & (8) Alan Walker - Intergenerational Relations and Welfare Restructuring: The Social Construction of an Intergenerational Problem - argues that families are used by policymakers to restructure welfare programs & hypothesizes that Germany is the most likely European country to repeat the US debate over intergenerational equity. PART IV - FAMILY ISSUES ACROSS GENERATIONS - includes (9) Matilda White Riley & John W. Riley, Jr. - Connections: Kin and Cohort - contends that the "latent matrix" of kin connections can accommodate the diverse family arrangements triggered by divorce, cohabitation, & traditional family norms; & (10) Alice S. Rossi - Intergenerational Relations: Gender, Norms, and Behavior - uses data from interviews with 1,400 adults in Boston, MA, to examine gender differences in generational relations. PART V - THE POLITICS AND POLITY OF AGE GROUPS AND GENERATIONS - provides (11) David W. Thomson - A Lifetime of Privilege? Aging and Generations at Century's End - uses the terms "selfish" & "unlucky" historical generations to describe how age groups react to being taxpayers, workers, & beneficiaries, & explores the myth of the generational welfare contract; (12)Fernando M. Torres-Gil - Interest Group Politics: Generational Changes in the Politics of Aging - explores the value of coalition politics in the political role of aging populations; & (13) Jill Quadagno, W. Andrew Achenbaum, & Vern L. Bengtson - Setting the Agenda for Research on Cohorts and Generations: Theoretical, Political, and Policy Implications - summarizes themes from previous Chapters & relates them to theoretical & political research issues in the future.