La pregunta por el valor de la vejez y por el bien vivir en esta etapa de la vida ha recorrido la historia de la cultura humana. Desde Cicerón, quien se preguntaba en la Roma republicana por las claves del cómo envejecer con dignidad, hasta las investigaciones de la premio nobel en medicina Rita Levi-Montalcini, quien demostró con su trabajo que nuevas reconexiones neuronales se forman constantemente en la edad adulta y la vejez, lo que les permite a las personas alcanzar logros que, en la juventud, les serían imposibles. Pero este constante preguntarse y responderse por el buen envejecer implica en sí una pregunta más profunda, la pregunta por el buen vivir y el buen morir. En la época moderna, estos interrogantes los hemos traducido en una pregunta no tan filosófica, pero sí más pragmática: la pregunta por la calidad de vida.

In this outstanding book, leading experts from throughout Europe provide a fascinating overview of the most important psychological research into aging, with special emphasis on training and professional issues as well as science. In terms of its population Europe is the oldest continent in the world, thus placing European research into the effects and implications of an aging population in a unique position. As this book shows, the aging of the population should be considered a positive phenomenon that reflects sociopolitical, educational, biomedical, and psychological development. The real threat for our population is not aging but disability, and the challenge for the 21st century is to reduce dependency and disability and thus improve well-being and quality of life, rather than increasing life expectancy. The recent United Nations' 2nd International Plan of Action on Aging and its Research Agenda on Aging for the 21st Century, as well as policies of the European Federation of Psychologists Associations, tell us that psychology and psychologists will play an essential part in meeting this challenge. This book shows how.

"Valuable report based on the Ecuador Living Standard Measurement Survey (1994). Uses total consumption expenditures. Provides a baseline reference for future work. Contrast with INEC's basic needs survey (item #bi 97002637#)"--Handbook of Latin AmericanStudies, v. 57.

The OECD education indicators enable countries to see themselves in light of other countries performance. They reflect on both the human and financial resources invested in education and on the returns of these investments.