Population aging raises the urgent question of how economic systems value older adults and people with disabilities. 

While other fields advance moral and social frameworks for late life, economists have largely failed to define the value of investing in older people – leaving the “value of life” debate to everyone else and weakening the foundation for sensible, humane, and practical old-age policy. The Wealth Equity Lab at The New School and the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR) invite scholars, policymakers, and the public to Reimagining the Economics of Late Life: Institutions, Systems, and Investments, a conference that challenges prevailing assumptions about economic value, longevity, and care. 

This convening – planned by emerging scholars in the field with faculty support – confronts how current systems fail older adults, clarifies the ethical and fiscal case for inclusion, and reimagines fairer economic institutions for later life.

PROGRAM

Welcome from SCEPA PhD Fellows Jessica Forden, Karthik Manickam and Drystan Phillips
9:00am - 9:15am

Remarks by Teresa Ghilarducci, Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Analysis and Director, the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis

9:15 AM - 9:30 AM

Panel I: How Systems and Institutions Are Failing Older Adults
9:45 - 11:00 AM

The economic rationale underlying many existing systems can often create conditions that negatively impact older adults. This panel presents research that discusses how older adults are affected by institutions that fail to account for their values or needs. 

Panelists:

Karthik Manickam, “How Student Debt Impacts Retirement Security”

Anna Delapaz & Madonna Harrington Meyer, “The Cost of Care: Food Insecurity and Economic Hardships among Low-Income Grandparents in the U.S.” 

Sohyon Pak, “Intergenerational Asset Allocation among Asian/Asian Americans”

Katy Schwalbe, “Hospital closures in New York” 

Meredith Slopen, “Making Work Accessible to Older Workers: Access and Use of Paid Leave Among Older Workers” 

Critical Discussant
Dmitriy Stolyarov, Professor of Economics, University of Michigan and Director, Michigan Retirement Research Center, Institute for Social Research

Panel II: Why Investing in Late Life Systems Matters
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM

This panel will examine the ethical, philosophical, and economic foundations for sustained investment in individuals in later life, drawing on both moral arguments for intergenerational justice and economic analyses of resource allocation across the life course. Presentations will address frameworks for fairness between generations, the design of systems that meet the needs of an aging population, and the broader societal returns that come from treating later life as a stage worthy of intentional investment.

Panelists:

Drystan Phillips, “Late Life Investment under Unequal Lifespan”

Aida Farmand, “Valuing the Unseen: Health, and Older Adults’ Non-Market Economic Contributions” 

Deborah Rose, “Care as Deferred Responsibility: Justice and Investment in Late Life Systems” 

Kirstin Munro & Jessica Forden, “Care as a Social Ecosystem Service”

Critical Discussant:
Surya Kolluri, Head of TIAA Institute

Lunch
12:30pm - 1:00pm

Keynote Address by Janet Gornick, Professor of Political Science and Sociology at The Graduate Center, CUNY
1:00pm - 1:30pm

Panel III: Strengthening the Late-Life Social Safety Net
1:45 PM – 3:00 PM

There is an urgent need to discuss what systems that truly consider the needs of older people would look like. This panel focuses on ways in which late-life safety nets can be reimagined and reinforced to ensure that the social contract of providing well-being for older people can be met.

Panelists:

Jessica Forden, “Do spousal caregivers claim Social Security early to replace or supplement their income?”

Mengting Lyu, “Valuing Care, Redefining “Terminal”: Challenges to Economic Paradigms from End-of-Life Care”

Ning Li, “Labor supply effects of ill health: a weighted instrumental variable approach to misclassification of health measures”

Ashley Z. Ritter, “Cross industry models of care to meet the intersecting needs of older adults”

Critical Discussant:
Kathleen McGarry, Professor of Economics at UCLA and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Fishbowl Discussion facilitated by Ruth Finkelstein, Rose Dobrof Executive Director of the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging at Hunter College, and Professor, School of Urban Public Health
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM 

featuring:

Ruth Finkelstein (Hunter College)
Teresa Ghilarducci (The New School/SCEPA)
Frank Heiland (CUNY/CIDR)
Na Yin (CUNY/CIDR)
Audience Participation