This century has witnessed a truly revolutionary shift in the age composition of the worlds industrialized countries. While fewer children have been born to each successive generation, more of them have survived into middle and old age, and an increasing proportion of the retired population now live into their eighties and nineties and even become centenarians. Growing Old in the Twentieth Century discusses the social implications of this dramatic growth in the numbers of elderly people in modern societies, both for individuals and for the larger society. The contributors consider the growing public consciousness of an old age problem earlier in this century, and the origins of current welfare programs. All the essays in this book are the result of recent independent research, most of which was sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council and other governmental funding agencies.