Sarah Harper

Economic and social implications of aging societies

The challenge of global population aging has been brought into sharper focus by the financial crisis of 2008. In particular, growing national debt has drawn government attention to two apparently conflicting priorities: the need to sustain public spending on pensions and health care versus the need to reduce budget deficits. A number of countries are consequently reconsidering their pension and health care provisions, which account for up to 40% of all government spending in advanced economies. Yet population aging is a global phenomenon that will continue to affect all regions of the world. By 2050 there will be the same number of old as young in the world, with 2 billion people aged 60 or over and another 2 billion under age 15, each group accounting for 21% of the world’s population.

Changing families as European Societies Age

The trends towards falling fertility and mortality and increasing longevity, which have led to the demographic ageing of all Western industrialized societies, have not occurred in isolation. More specifically, we are also seeing a combination of forces which are resulting in the ageing of some life-transitions . While public and legal institutions may be lowering the age threshold into full legal adulthood, individuals themselves are choosing to delay many of those transitions which demonstrate a commitment to full adulthood. This shift from a high-mortality/high-fertility society to a low-mortality/low-fertility society and the ageing of family transitions within these societies have significant implications for both family structure and kinship roles. Drawing on recent demographic figures for the European Union, this paper highlights the impact of these main trends on individuals and families.

Ageing 2000—questions for the 21st century

‘Ageing of the population is … one of the most important socioeconomic challenges … for the 21st Century’ Andrej Wojrczak, Director, WHO Centre Health Development, Japan. This statement (WHO 1998: 5), reflects the growing awareness among politicians, policy makers and the general public of issues which have been recognised by gerontologists for the past 30 years or so. In both developed and less developed countries, demographic transition and the shift in the age structure of the population is now being publicly recognised as having fundamental implications for everyone in society. As British gerontology enters a new century, the time appears ripe to reflect on past achievements and highlight some future questions. In the following discussion I consider ageing and later life, discussing both societal and individual ageing, and the experiences, needs and contributions of those in later life. The paper focuses on social gerontology, defined as social, behavioural, historical, demographic and economic aspects of the study of ageing and later life, including the interface of these with health and health services. It thus touches upon medical and biological aspects only when they are of appropriate relevance.

Addressing the implications of global ageing

Global ageing is not occurring in isolation, but is emerging in the context of globalization itself, a world increasingly dominated by the flow of human and economic capital across national boundaries. Indeed, a key stimulus to such capital flows is the emerging demographic imbalances arising from the differential movement of regions into maturity. Thus while an understanding of the dynamics of globalization is essential to address the challenges and opportunities of ageing societies, so it is also necessary to understand the dynamics of global ageing as a component of globalization. This paper considers the main demographic drivers behind global ageing, the dynamic relationship with globalization, and the societal implications.

Grandmothers as Replacement Parents and Partners: The Role of Grandmotherhood in Single Parent Families

The increasingly important role that grandparents and, in particular, grandmothers, are playing in the lives of their children and grandchildren is now widely recognized. What is less clear is the type of role these family members play within the extended family. Drawing on an in depth study of UK lone parent families, this paper reveals that grandmothers frequently become replacement partners as well as parents. While grandparents as replacement or surrogate parents have been identified in other studies, grandparents as replacement partners have not been well recognized. Yet their role is also of importance in sustaining the lone parent and contributing to the well-being of the grandchild.

The Capacity of Social Security and Health Care Institutions to Adapt to an Ageing World

Population ageing has been occurring in many countries within Europe, North America and elsewhere for a number of decades. However, recently the pace, size and global reach of such ageing has begun to be recognised, and the wider implications assessed. Population ageing poses a key policy challenge for social security and health care systems across the globe. Different governments will come to these considerations carrying with them contrasting demographic profiles, welfare regimes and institutional structures, and cultural systems. The future success of societies in their efforts to accommodate such demographic change will, to a large extent, rest with the capacity of social security and health care institutions to adapt to an ageing world.

International Handbook on Ageing and Public Policy

With the collective knowledge of expert contributors in the field, The International Handbook on Ageing and Public Policy explores the challenges arising from the ageing of populations across the globe. With an expansive look at the topic, this comprehensive Handbook examines various national state approaches to welfare provisions for older people and highlights alternatives based around the voluntary and third-party sector, families and private initiatives. Each of these issues are broken down further and split into six comprehensive sections: Context Pensions Health Welfare Case Studies Policy Innovation and Civil Society Academics interested in policy challenges for mature societies will find this Handbook a highly relevant reference tool. It also offers an important message for policy makers and practitioners in the field of public policy.

Editorial and Introduction

The steady decline in total fertility rates for all European Union (EU) countries since the 1970s combined with a steady increase in longevity has resulted in the maturing of European populations (Harper, 2006). Since the millennium, there have been more older than younger dependents in the EU, meaning more people over 60 than under 15. This finding has resulted in a relative growth in the proportion of older adults, potential grandparents, in the population. In addition, demographic aging affects both kinship structures and roles. The shift from a high mortality–high fertility society to a low mortality–low fertility society results in an increase in the number of living generations, or intergenerational extension, and a decrease in the number of living relatives within each generation, or intragenerational contraction (Bengtson et al., 1990). Modern European families are more likely than before to be both multigenerational and slim. What is termed the “beanpole family” by Bengtson and colleagues (1990) has been identified as an emergent family form in most Western industrial societies (Hagestad & Uhlenberg, 2007; Harper, 2004). An increasing proportion of families will consist of “inverted pyramids,” with more old than young members. Jensen and colleagues (2006) comment that today’s children have more grandparents than siblings. It is in light of such data that the Grandparenthood Network has been established under the EU 5th Framework Programme. Led by Professor

Caring for China's Ageing Population: The Residential Option — A Case Study of Shanghai

China is a rapidly ageing nation. With nearly 10 % of its population over sixty, forecasts predict that this proportion will double by 2025. Such ageing is particularly acute in some of the large cities, where the impact of population policies has combined with lengthening life expectancies, to increase rapidly the percentages of elderly residents. Following a brief review of health and welfare policies directed towards elderly people, the paper draws on documentary and field research, carried out in Shanghai, to assess the current development and administration of residential homes in that city. Using a variety of case- study material the paper discusses the current situation of residents in relation to their former life experiences. It appears that in communist China, as in western democracies, former positions and allegiances in younger life help construct the experience of old age.

Environment, migration and the European demographic deficit

Many countries in the more developed world, and some in the less developed, are facing new economic and social pressures associated with the ageing of their populations. Europe, in particular, is forecast to have a demographic deficit, which may be alleviated by in-migration to the region. However, several commentators have proposed that Europe will not be able to successfully compete with other regions, in particular Asia, in the coming years for the skills it will require. This letter explores these themes, arguing that climate change will increase the attractiveness of Europe as a destination of economic choice for future skilled workers, to the detriment of more environmentally challenged regions.