Experimental Study on Necessity and Effectiveness of Job Creating Project for Older Adults: Interaction Effect of Policy Framing and Age Group

Abstract

Welfare policies for the older adults are essential to the unprepared older adults generation in an unprecedentedly fast population aged society. However, although the allocation according to demographic characteristics in welfare policies is a universal method, welfare policies focusing on older adults are seeds of the generational conflict centered on economic interests. The purpose of this study is to explore how policy framing should be taken to positively enhance the public's attitude toward the older adults’s job project, which is part of the welfare policy for the older adults. To this end, we set up and conducted a 3 policy framing (Welfare Policy vs. Economic Revitalization Policy vs. Welfare & Economic Revitalization Policy) × 2 age group (20s, 30s vs. 50s, 60s) between-subject experimental design. The result showed that people in the young age group (the 20s and 30s) positively evaluated the need for policies when presenting the goal of the policy as Welfare & Economic Revitalization Policy, compared to others. On the other hand, people in the older adults group (the 50s and 60s) evaluated the older adults job project positively regardless of policy framing but showed a relatively more favorable attitude when suggesting policies to revitalize the economy rather than welfare. In conclusion, implications for the results of analysis and the direction of public relations of welfare policies for senior citizens are suggested.