Tertiary Preparation OECD

Question: Discuss about the Tertiary Preparation for OECD. Answer: Introduction Australia is one of the countries with the highest life expectancies in the world. In the year 2012, the combined life expectancy at birth was 82.1 years which was the sixth highest among OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. This reflects the overall mortality level and the rise in ageing population in Australia. This essay looks into the factors leading to ageing population and the potential effect of ageing population in the long run. Certain Australian Government reports and survey is an indication of the ageing population in Australia. For example in 2014, about 3.4 million people were above the age of 65 years and 456, 600 people were above 85 years of age (About ageing in Australia AIHW), 2017). The ageing process has increased due to demographic processes like fertility, mortality, migration of Australia. The transition of the Baby boom generation into the retirement stage is also contributing to ageing. Baby boom has created a shock wave of increase in particular age group in population cohort. High increase in life expectancy due to better health service and public health awareness is also contributing to ageing (Buckley et al., 2013). There are many implications of ageing in Australia. Firstly, economic development of the country might be affected by the ageing population. With more number of people above 55 years, the labor force participation rate will decrease and hours worked per capita will also be lower. The shortage of labor will have an impact on per capita GDP growth due to decrease in average labor productivity performance. It will also put more pressure on government during planning budgets as government is expenditure will increase significantly. Apart from education and welfare expenditure, additional expenditure will also be required in health sector, aged care and pensions. The main source of pressure will be the health care cost as the ageing population is likely to suffer from different chronic disease. It will increase the burden of the hospitals and health care sector (Kendig, McDonald, Piggott, 2016). Despite several challenges and implications of ageing population, Australia can prepare them to reduce this overall economic pressure by implementation of range of policy measures. This may include policies to raise productivity and participation to enhance income of Australia. This will depend on the demand of service and the cost involved in the future. Critical thinking and planning will be needed to adapt cost-effective health service provision to reduce extra health care expenditure. Hence, the perceived crisis related to ageing population can be avoided if Australian government takes timely and strategic action to solve the issue nationally. Reference About ageing in Australia (AIHW). (2017).Aihw.gov.au. Retrieved 14 January 2017, from https://www.aihw.gov.au/ageing/about/ Bloom, D. E., Chatterji, S., Kowal, P., Lloyd-Sherlock, P., McKee, M., Rechel, B., ... Smith, J. P. (2015). Macroeconomic implications of population ageing and selected policy responses.The Lancet,385(9968), 649-657. Buckley, J., Tucker, G., Hugo, G., Wittert, G., Adams, R. J., Wilson, D. H. (2013). The Australian baby boomer populationFactors influencing changes to health-related quality of life over time.Journal of aging and health,25(1), 29-55. Kendig, H., McDonald, P., Piggott, J. (Eds.). (2016).Population Ageing and Australia's Future. ANU Press.