ESSAY INFORMATION:
Written by: Xuân Phi, 4/4/2022
Supported by: Ex-BC Examiner, 5/4/2022
Question: In the future, there will be a higher proportion of older people than young people in many countries. Is it a positive or negative development?
(IELTS Academic – 2/4/2022)
ANSWER (8.0+):
It is observed that the ratio of older to younger people will grow in the coming decades across most nations. This essay will explain why this is ultimately a negative development for society in the long term.
Firstly, having a greater proportion of elderly people can put a strain on the state budget. The government may have to increase its expenditure on the healthcare system since senior citizens are more prone to serious and often costly ailments such as heart disease and strokes than younger people. However, since there are other important sectors that the government has to allocate funding to such as infrastructure, education and defense, spending more to support the elderly may eventually leave little financial resources for those mentioned fields. This could adversely impact the meaningful progress being made in said fields and by extension detrimentally affect the socioeconomic development of a country.
Secondly, the growth in the number of elderly people will damage the national workforce. Since they are not as physically or mentally strong as younger people, most old people can no longer work to contribute to securing their country’s economic growth. Consequently, with an inadequate number of younger people to replace the aging population in terms of employment, a shrinking workforce can impede economic growth which in turn can halt meaningful strides towards better standards of living. This is evident in the case of blue-collar jobs, as workers who are much older cannot work as effectively as younger ones since they lack the strength to tackle hard labor. Hence, they are more likely to be laid off which will practically diminish the national workforce in this area.
In conclusion, the expanding number of older people in comparison to younger people is decidedly a negative development since it will place a massive burden on the state budget and reduce the productivity of the labor force.
Word count: 310
WORD LIST:
|
ENGLISH |
TIẾNG VIỆT |
| Ratio |
Tỉ lệ |
|
In the coming decades |
Trong các thập kỉ tới |
| To put a strain on sth |
Gây lên căng thẳng cho cái gì đó |
|
Serious and often costly ailments |
Bệnh tật nghiêm trọng và gây tốn kém |
| Financial resources |
Nguồn tài chính |
|
Adversely impact |
Tác động tiêu cực |
| National workforce |
Lực lượng lao động quốc gia |
|
Securing their country’s economic growth |
Đảm bảo tăng trưởng kinh tế của đất nước |
| Impede economic growth |
Cản trở tăng trưởng kinh tế |
|
Meaningful strides |
Những bước tiến có ý nghĩa |
| Blue-collar jobs |
Việc làm lao động chân tay |
|
Tackle hard labor |
Lao động khổ sai |
