Providing an overview of the future research challenges for economists and social scientists concerning population ageing, pensions, health and social care in Europe, this book examines how scientific research can provide cutting-edge evidence on income security and well-being of the elderly, and labour markets and older workers.

SHARE is an international survey designed to answer the societal challenges that face us due to rapid population ageing. How do Europeans age? Under which circumstances do older people and their families live, how healthy and active are they, and how did the crisis affect them? The authors of this multidisciplinary book have taken a first step toward answering these questions based on the recent SHARE data including a new social networks module.

Compared to other regions, Europe and Central Asia are by far the oldest. Moreover, population aging is set to accelerate further over the coming decades as large segments turn old. Additionally, some countries such as Russia and certain Eastern European countries are facing a shrinkage of their population. Against this backdrop, this report investigates what stands in the way of societies reaping the full benefits of increased longevity--that is, longer lives and potentially prolonged payoffs from human capital--and what can help to mitigate the possible negative impacts of a smaller and older workforce. Beginning with a focus on demographic trends, the report puts the rapid decline in fertility and contrasting migration trends in the region in a historical perspective and looks forward to the varying paths that population change may follow in the region. Next, it examines the evidence on the likely impact of demographic change on growth and savings, the labor force, firm and economy-wide innovation, poverty and inequality, and intergenerational solidarity. Finally, the report goes beyond diagnostics and puts an emphasis on what we know regarding successful policy interventions, presenting evidence on what has and has not worked in the past.--Publisher description.

This book provides a comprehensive picture of quality of life in old age in five very different European Union countries. Based on systematic review of the evidence in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UIKL by leading national experts the volume constitutes a unique resource for anyone interested in ageing in Europe. As well as covering all the most important issues concerning quality in later life, including physical and mental health, the environments of ageing, employment and income, family and support networks and participation and social integration, each chapter follows a standard format to ensure maximum accessibility of the material presented and comparisons between the countries. A comparative framework is provided in the introductory chapter which also places the five countries in their broad European context. The research evidence contained in this volume has never been available previously in the one place and, therefore, it represents a unique contribution to the literature. The book is intended as a companion volume to the others in the Growing Older series providing the only comparative European perspective. This comparative analysis shows that many similar quality of later life issues are being faced by older people in different EU countries but that the policy and service contexts are quite different, as are the research traditions.

As the United States and the rest of the world face the unprecedented challenge of aging populations, this volume draws together for the first time state-of-the-art work from the emerging field of the demography of aging. The nine chapters, written by experts from a variety of disciplines, highlight data sources and research approaches, results, and proposed strategies on a topic with major policy implications for labor forces, economic well-being, health care, and the need for social and family supports.