The comparison between the statistics concerning the aging phenomena in France and Mexico illuminates the significance of the role of society in influencing the aging process. According to the report produced by Watson Wyatt Worldwide (WWW), it is perfectly understandable why France would have a larger and older aged population than Mexico (iii). More specifically, the socioeconomic disparities between the two countries play the primary role in shaping their aging trends.
As documented by WWW, the aging trend of the populations in the developed economies of the world such as France is characterized by two socio-demographic developments. First, due to medical advances and the increased socioeconomic quality of life, people in developed countries such as France tend to live longer because they do not die from illnesses during their youth. Moreover, they also tend to live longer after they have reached old age. Second, the fertility rates of the developed world have also been declining (WWW iii).
In contrast, Mexico that has been classified as a country that is in the "intermediate stage of economic development" (WWW iv) has only just begun to experience the aging phenomenon that has been underway in the developed countries for several decades. While France has already experienced fertility rates that have fallen below the replacement levels, Mexico's fertility rates that has been decreasing over the last two decades have not yet dipped below the replacement rate levels, though this is projected to occur within the next ten years. Similarly, Mexico's improving socioeconomic conditions that have contributed to the quality of public health care have only begun to increase the life expectancy in the country (WWW iv). Therefore, even though Mexico is also experiencing the aging phenomenon due to the improvement in health care and decrease in fertility rates, it has merely started the process.
Thus, the socioeconomic dispar...