This bulletin summarises what is known about rheumatoid arthritis and presents available Australian national statistics on the subject. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease – one where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues – and thus differs from osteoarthritis which is characterised by wear-and-tear of joints. Joints bear the brunt of autoimmunity in...

Asia's general reliance on defined benefit schemes could potentially lead to unfunded liabilities similar to those experienced in some countries in Europe, once the tipping point is reached. Some segments of the population lack meaningful pensions, a feature of many developing economies in the region, which means the whole system of retirement income in Asia...

With total health spending in the region worth over a trillion dollars in 2010 and demand for healthcare continuing to grow, Asian governments will have a tremendous challenge meeting and funding this demand.

While Asia's population is expected to increase by one billion people in the next thirty years, the significant demographic story is the change in its age structure.

The ageing of the population is a global demographic transition that is creating seismic shifts in the age structure of populations worldwide, and Australia is no exception. This Positioning Paper is the first output of a project that aims to uncover the uses, financial costs and risks of housing equity withdrawal (HEW) via alternative mechanisms...