Exchange rates and old people

This paper extends earlier work on aging as a process of exchange by focusing on the issue of exchange rates and how they are negotiated. Intergenerational social exchange is conceptualized as a "boundary crossing" in which the older partner must learn the decision rules appropriate to interaction within a younger stratum. Because of the power differential that, in many cases, favors the middle-aged partner, the "discourse" governing the exchange is typically that of the younger exchange partner. Age is an "exportable" status characteristic, one that is used to assess the legitimacy of a person's claim for a certain level of reward. Old age places the exchange partner in a double bind. Access to power resources declines with age, placing the person in the unenviable position of negotiating from weakness. In addition, those resources which he/she does possess are exchanged for less than they would be if held by a younger person.