Workshop: The changing politics of ageing and welfare state: Connecting politics with realities

Abstract Societies are ageing, in Europe and elsewhere. This is an effectively unprecedented development in human history and one that many think could pose a real threat to welfare states’ political bases and sustainability. In some countries this has been taken as evidence that the welfare state will become unsustainable, and in others that the welfare state has been turned to serve the interests of the elderly at the expense of the young. The purpose of this workshop is to present the new evidence on how and why political systems respond to the challenges of ageing and health. Research indicates that the extent that population ageing creates difficulties for economies, public finances, and health systems is complex and, importantly, conditional on a host of modifiable factors. Furthermore, a focus on divides between generations distracts us from other, important, inequalities within generations. Not only does science have a part to play in busting many ageing-related ‘myths’, but there is also a key role for policy intervention. This workshop, based on findings from the European Observatory’s “Economics of Healthy and Active Ageing” study brings together research on why population ageing is often (erroneously) viewed cataclysmically from a health financing perspective, and reviews relevant policies that may improve health system financial sustainability. The workshop will have 5 presentations followed by debate on why countries may or may not prioritize policies that support the health of older people. Presentation #1 sets out the problems and broad trends on costs and projections associated with older people and ageing societies, drawing on the other parts of the series, as well as intergenerational transfers. It then lays out the framework for the rest of the presentations. Presentation #2 expands on the first presentation by looking at country contexts. The focus will be on the politics and consequences of ageing in southern and central-eastern Europe. Having established the problem, Presentation #3 will determine how different publics understand and frame ageing and health, what priorities do publics identify, and why. Presentation #4 will look at political manifestos and voting patterns to see how/if public opinions are translating into changes in government that want to tear down the welfare state and blame it on ageing. Lastly, Presentation #5 will address the core issue obscured by intergenerational accounting: to what extent are the politics of ageing actually being shaped by, and reproducing, social inequalities? Debate including audience members will be facilitated by an expert from the Observatory. Key messages Excessive focus on the costs of ageing is a distraction from real inequalities and an obstacle to better policy. Institutional and policy responses play a crucial role in determining how health systems, economies and societies more broadly are affected by population ageing.