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Active ageing: a strategic policy solution to demographic ageing in the European Union
- Authors:
- WALKER Alan, MALTBY Tony
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 21(S1), October 2002, pp.S117-S130.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Across the European Union, there has been a shift from a society that is predominantly young to one which is dominated by older cohorts. The ageing of European countries has widespread implications for current and future social and economic policies across the region. This article examines the emergence of discourses on ageing at the EU level, in particular concentrating on those concerning the increasingly universal policy concept of ‘active ageing’. The problem with active ageing is that it lacks a precise universally accepted definition. The dominant policy paradigm is the economic one of working longer. The main purposes of this article are to explain why this strategy has emerged and its importance. Despite a great deal of positive political rhetoric, the response at all levels of policy making has been rather limited. An active social and public policy is required to mainstream active ageing as the leading paradigm for ageing policy across the EU. The year 2012 has been designated the’ European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity Between the Generations’, and thus offers a potential focus for renewed policy action.
Active and successful aging: a European policy perspective
- Authors:
- FOSTER Liam, WALKER Alan
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 55(1), 2015, pp.83-90.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Over the past two decades, “active ageing” has emerged in Europe as the foremost policy response to the challenges of population ageing. This article examines the concept of active ageing and how it differs from that of “successful ageing.” In particular, it shows how active ageing presents a more holistic, life course–oriented approach than successful ageing. The authors provide a critical perspective on active ageing too by, first, tracing its emergence in Europe and then showing how, in practice, it has been dominated by a narrow economic or productivist perspective that prioritises the extension of working life. It has also been gender blind. Nonetheless, it is argued that an active ageing approach has the potential to enable countries to respond successfully to the challenges of population ageing because of its comprehensive focus and emphasis on societal as well as individual responsibility. Finally, the authors set out the basic principles that need to be followed if the full potential of active ageing is to be achieved. (Edited publisher abstract)