This title was first published in 2001. Older people have been characterized by two mutually contradictory stereotypes. One the one hand they have been portrayed as a powerful lobby, growing demographically and able to demand large redistributions of the nation's income in their direction. On the other hand they have been typified as a marginalized group at high risk of poverty and exclusion and, in a political context, largely powerless. This book examines, using original research conducted by the Older People and Politics Project (OPPOL) within Exeter University's Sociology Department, the reality of the impact of the increasing number of older people on the British political process. The project had three main investigative concerns: how effective are pressure groups and lobbyists for older people?; how is the power and influence of older people perceived by older people themselves and the general public?; and how are politicians responding to older people and their needs?

An analysis of ageing in relation to identity formation, inequality and stratification. The book outlines a theory of social inequality which encompasses those inequalities associated with old age - in addition to class, gender, race and ethnicity.; This book is intended for undergraduate and postgraduate sociology courses in social stratification and social theory, as well as students and researchers in social policy, social welfare and health with an interest in the study of ageing.

This title was first published in 2001. Older people have been characterized by two mutually contradictory stereotypes. One the one hand they have been portrayed as a powerful lobby, growing demographically and able to demand large redistributions of the nation's income in their direction. On the other hand they have been typified as a marginalized group at high risk of poverty and exclusion and, in a political context, largely powerless. This book examines, using original research conducted by the Older People and Politics Project (OPPOL) within Exeter University's Sociology Department, the reality of the impact of the increasing number of older people on the British political process. The project had three main investigative concerns: how effective are pressure groups and lobbyists for older people?; how is the power and influence of older people perceived by older people themselves and the general public?; and how are politicians responding to older people and their needs?

What is the future of old age? How will families, services, and economies adapt to an older population? Such questions often provoke extreme and opposing answers: some see ageing populations as having the potential to undermine economic growth and prosperity; others see new and exciting ways of living in old age. The Futures of Old Age places these questions in the context of social and political change, and assesses what the various futures of old age might be. Prepared by the British Society of Gerontology, The Futures of Old Age brings together a team of leading international gerontologists from the United Kingdom and United States, drawing on their expertise and research. The book's seven sections deal with key contemporary themes including: population ageing; households and families; health; wealth; pensions; migration; inequalities; gender and self; and identity in later life.