“…The intergenerational power of older adults also is likely to shift with changes in the economy and society. Modernization theorists posit that the status of older adults inevitably declines with improvements in education, urbanization, economic technology, and health technology because the obsolescence of skills among older adults lowers their value to society (e.g., Cowgill, 1972; Logue, 1990; Nugent, 1990; Palmore & Whittington, 1971; Pampel & Weiss, 1983). Research shows, however, that the status of the older population may decline during the early stages of development but rises again as modernization proceeds (Dowd, 1981; Ishii‐Kuntz & Lee, 1987; Maddox, 1979; Palmore & Manton, 1974).…”