The elderly and public policies. The case of the Guadalajara metropolitan area

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a survey of elderly people attending a public organization for social assistance: The workshops of DIF Jalisco and Comude. Findings show older adults’ preferences of activities inside and outside home. The theoretical framework used in order to explain the aging process and changes in activities among this group, is the activity theory. For the purpose of this work, activities were studied as an utility function using the SOC model from an economic perspective. This model helped us to understand the relationship between physical and economic resources and older adults’ activities based on formal governmental programs.