Economic foundations for creative ageing policy, volume II putting theory into practice

Andrzej Klimczuk

Economic
Foundations
for
Creative
Ageing Policy
Putting Theory
into Practice
Volume II


Economic Foundations for Creative Ageing

Policy, Volume II


Andrzej Klimczuk

Economic
Foundations for
Creative Ageing
Policy, Volume II
Putting Theory into Practice

Andrzej Klimczuk
Collegium of Socio-Economics
Warsaw School of Economics
Warsaw, Poland

ISBN 978-1-137-53522-1     ISBN 978-1-137-53523-8  (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-53523-8
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Foreword

by

Richard Adler

In Gray Dawn, a book published in 1999, the author, Peter Peterson,
warned that as the result of population ageing, a gigantic wave of greedy

geezers was rising that was threatening to sink the economy of many countries and disenfranchise subsequent generations.1 Peterson’s main culprits
were governments, especially in the USA and in Europe that had overpromised a level of benefits to the elderly that was economically unsustainable. A grim picture of the results of greater longevity!
Ten years later, in 2009, another book was published, with the title A
Long Bright Future.2 This book, by Stanford Professor Laura Carstensen,
also focused on the challenges of ageing societies but offered a much
more optimistic view of the consequences of an ageing society. Professor
Carstensen is best known as the developer of the theory of socioemotional
selectivity that explains why older adults, on the whole, are happier and
more contented than younger people and illuminates the notion that we
do, in fact, develop a kind of wisdom about life as we get older. She is
also the founder of the Stanford Center on Longevity whose mission is
to develop appropriate responses to the challenges of an ageing society.3

In her book, she offers suggestions for how we individually and collectively can make the most out of the “extra years” provided by increased
longevity.
These two books, published a decade apart, provide nearly diametrically opposed viewpoints about the implications of population ageing. But
which is more likely to be correct?
If we confine our perspective to the responses of national governments,
we may have reason to be pessimistic. For much of the twentieth century,
v


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FOREWORD BY RICHARD ADLER

the main focus of policy in relation to later life in many countries was the
establishment of entitlements intended to support the financial and physical well-being of older citizens. The USA, for example, introduced Social
Security in 1935 to provide old age benefits for almost all of its citizens. In
1965, the Medicare system was set up to comprehensive health care coverage for those over age 65. And that same year, the Older Americans Act
provided federal funding for a variety of community-based social services
for the elderly delivered through a national “ageing network” of local
agencies.
Much the same thing happened in many other countries during the
past century.
These programs have been successful in increasing the quality of life
for older adults. The poverty rate among seniors has fallen even as the life

expectancy has increased with healthier lifestyles and the availability of lifeextending medical care.
But as we moved into the twenty-first century, we have entered a time
of greater concern about the specter of public debt and the “burden”
of ageing populations. As Peter Peterson puts it, “graying means paying” in terms of greater national expenditures for pensions and health
care. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), public spending for these purposes will increase
dramatically in virtually every developed country: from 10.5 percent of
gross domestic product (GDP) in 1995 to 17.0 percent in 2030 in the
USA; from 17.3 percent to 28.8 percent in Germany; and from 19.7 percent in 1995 to 33.3 percent of GDP in Italy in 2030.4 Peterson also
points out that “the developed countries have accumulated massive
unfunded pension liabilities on a par with the debt burden of nations at
war”—amounting to 113 percent of GDP for the USA, 157 percent for

Germany, and fully 242 percent of GDP for Italy.5
Given these daunting numbers, it is unrealistic to expect any new largescale programs to benefit the elderly in any of these countries. As best,
they will struggle to meet their existing obligations. So where can we look
for evidence to support an optimistic outlook about the future of ageing?
The good news is that in the place of new or expanded major national
programs, a wave of entrepreneurially driven innovation in ageing has
begun to emerge, mainly at the local level, to respond to the evolving
needs of the elderly. Some of these have been led by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), others by local government agencies, and yet others by public–private partnerships.


FOREWORD BY RICHARD ADLER 

vii

Let me give a couple of examples of the kinds of innovative grassroots
initiatives that have appeared across the globe in recent years. In 2002,
a group of older residents of the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood of
Boston, Massachusetts, got together to see what they could do to help
themselves to “age in place” instead of having to move to a retirement
community. They ended up creating Beacon Hill Village, a membership
program that facilitates access to the services they need to continue to live
independently (ranging from pet sitting to home health care).6 This concept proved so successful that it began to spread to other communities.
Another example of inspired local innovation is Old’Up, an organization founded in Paris in 2008 to give a voice to older people (age 75+)

who want to continue to play a meaningful role in society.7 Following the
motto of “Plus si jeune, mais pas si vieux” (“No longer young, but not
so old”), the group’s members provide mutual support to each other and
pursue opportunities to make meaningful contributions.
Equally creative projects can be found in many other locations. In Palo
Alto, California, for example, a local medical group concerned about
the well-being of its older patients has sponsored a time bank to enable
seniors’ trade services with one another.8 In Westchester County, New
York, the local Area Agency on Aging is helping to set up “Care Circles”
that recruit volunteer caregivers for seniors who need support with everyday activities.9 In Tuymazy, Russia, a group of older volunteers produce a
twice-monthly local TV program titled “Studio 50+” that explores issues
of concern to older people and profiles elders who continue to do interesting work.10 In many towns in Australia, England, and Ireland, Men’s

Sheds have been set up to enable older men to work on building projects
for themselves or for the community.11
Moreover, around the world, cities such as Oslo, Norway, Barcelona,
Spain, Medellín, Columbia, and Qiqihar, China, have qualified to be designated as “age-friendly” communities. Launched by the World Health
Organization (WHO) in 2010, the movement encourages communities
to listen to the needs of their ageing residents, to promote healthy and
active ageing, and to support the full participation of older people in civic
life.12
Each of these projects is responding to specific local needs. Many are
designed to encourage older adults to do as much as possible for themselves and for their peers and neighbors, largely on a voluntary basis.
Worthy as these local initiatives are, they raise the question of how can
be scaled up to meet the needs of all elders in the same way that large

viii 

FOREWORD BY RICHARD ADLER

national programs are inherently able to do. One promising answer is the
emergence of what I describe as “networks of innovation” that take advantage of the Internet and other modern tools to spread the word about
successful local programs. For example, a Village-to-Village Network was
established in 2010 to help existing villages to exchange best practices
and help new villages under development.13 Today, the network has more
than 200 members in the USA, Australia, and the Netherlands. Men’s

Sheds Associations were founded to promote the concept in Australia,
New Zealand, Ireland and the UK, where there are now more than 1000
local sheds in operation.14 A Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and
Communities (GNAFCC) set up by WHO now include more than 280
places in 33 countries.15 And a new web-based resource called the Pass It
On Network, created and run entirely by older volunteers in a half-dozen
different countries, provides a simple way to share ideas internationally
about projects that promote positive ageing.16
Even if these creative local responses can be effectively scaled up, they
will never entirely replace national programs that provide a vital safety net
of financial security and other social benefits. For example, one-quarter of
Americans over age 65 depend on Social Security payments for nearly all

of their income, and half of all seniors in the USA rely on Social Security
to provide 50 percent of their total income.17 However, national programs
could and should do more to support the growth of local initiatives and
encourage the development of mechanisms for replicating local successes
more widely. It is through a combination of established national support
programs—which must be maintained—and innovative local initiatives
that we will ensure that ageing populations will enjoy a long, bright future
rather than herald the coming of a gray dawn.
Richard Adler
Institute for the Future 
Palo Alto, CA, USA

Foreword

by

Dominic Campbell

For a cultural producer like myself to be invited to produce a foreword for
a volume with the phrase “economic foundations” in its title is as rare as it
is welcome. It is a practical example, as well as an entertaining indication,
of the thought and thoroughness of Andrzej Klimczuk’s approach.
It is self-evident that the scale of change created by longer-living population demand intelligence be applied to understanding the shifting demographic. It is obvious the consequences of life with increasingly older

populations worldwide require immediate, meaningful action. What is less
evident is how this can best occur.
Historically unprecedented longer-living populations are establishing a
new societal landscape. There is a need for fresh thinking, creative practice, new alignments, innovative paradigms, and original policy. There is
also need for clear and precise questioning. How, for example, is it possible to articulate the unique potential arising from this evolution?
In a process that mirrors recent changes in the environmental movement, those most engaged with the growth in longer-living populations
are witnessing a welcome change in narratives.
Previously described negatively in terms of crisis, demand, and drain
on resources the language surrounding the emerging ageing demographic
is becoming more nuanced and informed. These volumes are a welcome
addition to this process.
As they detail ageing populations demand innovation, which create opportunity and encourage growth. However, to pursue these

we must firstly confront misconceptions and reframe much-existing
understanding.
ix


x 

FOREWORD BY DOMINIC CAMPBELL

The new landscape needs exploring while the vehicles with which
to navigate it are being built. The demarcation between previously distinct areas of expertise is beginning to blur as successful responses are
informed by collaborations between specialized areas that previously

operated alone.
For example, in my work with Creative Aging International, there are
often occasions to reflect on Richard Smith’s observation in the British
Medical Journal that “If health is about adaptation, understanding and
acceptance, then the arts may be more potent than anything that medicine
has to offer.”18
However, even a brief perusal of innovative arts practice engaged with
ageing and older populations brings the observer to recognize the equal
wisdom in Grayson Perry’s statement: “Artists should not claim sole rights
to creativity.”
In fact, the case could be made that what marks out the best creative
responses to ageing populations is their ability to convene, to cross over,

and to hybridize.
Which is welcome.
Contemporary old age is complex. Part individual journey, part public health success, it is the place where changes to a life course are happening in parallel with changes in generational succession. Here issues
of place-making are meeting those of intergenerational solidarity. In our
communal day after tomorrow, the issues and concerns of public health
and architecture, social services, and transport need to align to determine
how ageing populations might continue to live well.
Increasingly the cultural sector is becoming the area that may offer prototype mechanisms to suggest how this can occur. Creative practices that
demonstrate a deep understanding of collaboration have much to offer the
navigators of this changing of the social landscape.
If successful social levers are as likely to be found by the government
as markets, to be delivered by social organizations or networks, through

formal or informal organization or territory, how best to nurture?
Which brings challenges to policy structures grown in other eras and,
in turn, demands new leadership skills.
Who is in the best position, through what agency, to deliver practical
policy locally, nationally, and internationally for a population whose immediate geography might today be global but tomorrow rapidly reduces to
the size of the table on their hospital bed?


FOREWORD BY DOMINIC CAMPBELL 

xi

Transitions of this type are a central feature of individual ageing. To live
well throughout requires an acknowledgment of change, acceptance, and
moving on. A process improved by the imaginative skills of improvisation,
by the ability to respond creatively to change in a circumstance, not with
disappointment but with “and yes.”
Perhaps wisely improvisation is not a value sought from the policy. We
value consistency. So how to build flexibility? How to be truly responsive?
Ageing populations are diverse. The 50+ demographic includes within
it the wealthiest generations in human history and those among the most
vulnerable and most fragile. It includes the independent and the reliant,
the highly educated and the abandoned, those confident of ageing well
and the fearful.

It is a familiar diversity because we are those ageing populations. It
is important to remind regularly ourselves that there is no “them.” This
older population is “us,” just a little time later.
Which is where previously valued demarcation between public and private, between personal and political become more ambiguous. It is where
all of our intelligence and experience need to be present. It brings the
navigator to the site within the landscape where steps should perhaps be
made with the greatest care.
Simply by waking to another day, people may eventually arrive, with
adult awareness, to require the care indivisible from that afforded to the
smallest most vulnerable of children. Continuing along current trajectories populations may arrive in ever greater numbers to dated systems
straining under ever-reduced resources.
Therefore, in this world considered from the perspective of old age, it

is required to think more carefully about “value,” a term those laboring in
economics and culture find equally challenging.
What is it? Where and how might it be explored, constructed, articulated, and supported? How is it best approached and how might learning
be exchanged?
Which perhaps articulates the greatest potential growing within the
lives of increasingly older populations through these approaches reflected
in the term “creative ageing.”
It might be that old age is a form of temporal common ground, arrived at
through maturity, where experience and learned expertise are equally valuable.
“Old age” might be where we can meet. Where we are able to bring the
best of ourselves to exchange with each other.

xii 

FOREWORD BY DOMINIC CAMPBELL

So I invite you to bring to your reading of this volume all of you, both
the personal and the professional. In doing so, you might reflect on two
critical questions common to all experts from all fields of expertise,
–– What kind of old do you want to be?
–– What kind of a world do you want to grow older in?
Dominic Campbell
Creative Aging International 

Dublin, Ireland


Preface

and

Acknowledgments

Writing the second volume of the Economic Foundations for Creative Ageing
Policy was a true adventure. The starting point was to locate the position
of the field of creative ageing in the context of various ageing policy ideas.

The next step was to introduce the creative ageing movement and to show
how it transforms lives of older adults and, moreover, to show how this
campaign influences public policies toward responding to the challenges of
an ageing population and to disseminate the “bottom-up” approach rather
than “top-down” approach. The journey related to this book included
searching for a variety of innovative practices that integrate older adults in
active, creative, and productive ways as well as initiatives that focus on the
implementation of codesign and establishing platforms to provide innovative social, health, and care services and programs for older adults.
Having said that, writing of this book was mostly a very long journey
through the diversity of ideas, concepts, and attitudes. Thus, I want to
give thanks especially to my family and friends, for understanding both
long weeks of my work in silence and travels related to my studies on old

age and ageing. Actually, this book was also written in parts in various creative spaces. Traveling between more and less known regions of countries
of the European Union was both time-consuming and inspiring. Thus, I
would also like to thank all the people from all continents that I met during my travels and exchanged ideas with.
Writing of this book would not have been possible without the help of the
librarians and databases of schools at which I studied, namely the Warsaw
School of Economics, Poland; the Cracow University of Economics,
Poland; and the University of Białystok, Poland. I also need to underline
xiii


xiv 

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

that some of my ideas will probably not come to live and grow without
my experience of collaboration with the institutions that supported my
research in the field of creative industries and social policy, in particular, the University of Białystok Foundation, the SocLab Foundation, the
Białystok Foundation of Professional Training, the Ortus Foundation, the
Activation Foundation, the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy
in Poland, the Lesław A. Paga Foundation at the Warsaw Stock Exchange,
the community of the Babele.co, and the Le Mat Europe. I would also
like to thank the staff of the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
and the European Commission, which invited me to work as an outside
expert. The opinions expressed in this book are personal and should not

be associated with the institutions at which I work.
I would also like to say thank-you to Professor Piotr Błędowski at
the Warsaw School of Economics, Poland, for continuous support during consultations on social gerontology. I would like to thank again two
anonymous reviewers of this book proposal whose comments helped me
to improve the quality of the manuscript. Writing of the second volume of
the Economic Foundations for Creative Ageing Policy was also highly influenced by the discussions organized after publishing volume one. Thus,
I would like to thank the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, the
European Sociological Association—the Research Network on Ageing in
Europe, the AGE Platform Europe, the Salzburg Global Seminar, participants of an international symposium on the European Intergenerational
Field in Amsterdam, the Eastern Economic Congress, and the Polish
Institute of the Silver Economy for giving me opportunities to present
some of the ideas included in the book and to rethink them after getting

critical feedback.
I would like to thank all the researchers, whose work I quote in this
book. I also ask for their understanding if I misunderstood, misinterpreted, or simplified their thoughts so that they might fit into my theoretical model. I would also like to thank Leila Campoli, Sarah Lawrence,
Leighton Lustig, and Allison Neuburger of Palgrave Macmillan, who
saw the strengths in my manuscript and for helpful responses during
the manuscript preparation and the publication process. I am grateful to
Ranganathan Vijayalakshmi and the copyediting staff at SPi Global for
improving the readability of the text.
Andrzej Klimczuk
Białystok-Warsaw, Poland 

Contents

1 The Politics of Ageing and the Challenges
of Ageing Populations1
2 Understanding Public Policy on Ageing17
3 Sociological and Gerontological Perspectives
on Ageing, Creativity, and the Third Age35
4 Diversity of Ageing Policy Concepts55
5 The Emergence of the Creative Ageing Movement103
6 Aims and Challenges of the Creative Ageing Policy167
7 Principles, Governance, and Coproduction of
the Creative Ageing Policy191

xv


xvi 

Contents

8 Organizational Forms and Management for
the Building of Creative Capital of Older People207
Conclusion251
Afterword by Andreas Hoff and Kurt Lüscher259

Afterword by Suchandrima Chakraborty263
Afterword by Jorge Felix267
Glossary273
Bibliography299
Index343


List

of

Abbreviations

AAAs
AAI
AAL
AARP
ACP
ACAH
ADLs
AIP
AIUTA

Area Agencies on Aging (United States)

Active Ageing Index
Ambient Assisted Living
American Association of Retired Persons (United States)
Arts Alive’s Art Communication Project (Japan)
Australian Centre for Arts and Health
Activities of Daily Living
Ageing in Place
International Association of Universities of the
Third Age (France)
AoA
Administration on Aging (United States)
ARA

Alliance for Retired Americans (United States)
B2BBusiness-to-Business
B2CBusiness-to-Customer
BAGSO
Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Senioren-Organisationen
(Germany)
BRICS
the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and
South Africa
C2CCustomer-to-Customer
CASA
Consortium for Assistive Solutions Adoption

CCRC
Continuing-Care Retirement Community
CCS
Cross-Cultural Solutions (United States)
CELADE-ECLAC Latin American and Caribbean Demographic
Centre—Population Division of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean

xvii

xviii 

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

COP
Community of Practice
CORAL
Community of Regions for Assisted Living
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
CSV
Creating Shared Value

DCU
Dublin City University (Ireland)
DIYDo-It-Yourself
EADLs
Electronic Aids to Daily Living
EC
European Commission
ECIL
European Certificate in Intergenerational Learning
EIP AHA
European Innovation Partnership on Active and
Healthy Ageing

EMIL
European Map of Intergenerational Learning
EPALE
Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe
ESTA
Elders Share the Arts (United States)
ETC
European Theatre Convention
EU
European Union
GAROP
Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People

GAWI
Global AgeWatch Index
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GNAFCC
Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities
GSAP
Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health
HAI
HelpAge International
HDI
Human Development Index

HRM
Human Resource Management
IADLs
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
IAHSA
International Association of Homes and Services
for the Ageing
IBK
Institute for Education and Culture (Germany)
ICTs
Information and Communication Technologies
IFA

International Federation on Ageing
IGOs
Intergovernmental Organizations
ILC
International Longevity Center
INSII
International Network for the Study of Intergenerational
Issues—Generationes
IPR
Intellectual Property Right
KIIT + O
Design and Creative Centre Kobe (Japan)

LGBT
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
LGNSW
Local Government of New South Wales (Australia)
LLIs
Lifelong Learning Institutes (United States)
LLL
Lifelong Learning
LTC
Long-Term Care
MINT
the countries of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

MIPAA

xix

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing
(United Nations)
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States)

MoMA
Museum of Modern Art (United States)
NALC
Nippon Active Life Club (Japan)
NCCA
National Center for Creative Aging (United States)
NCDs
Non-Communicable Diseases
NCOA
National Council on Aging (United States)
NCSC
National Council on Senior Citizens (United States)

NEA
National Endowment for the Arts (United States)
NESTA
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the
Arts (United Kingdom)
NGO
Non-Governmental Organization
NGOCOA
NGO Committee on Ageing
NIH
National Institutes of Health (United States)
NTA

National Transfer Accounts
OAA
Older Americans Act (United States)
OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development
PAYGPay-As-You-Go
R&D
Research & Development
RCAC
Research Center for Arts and Culture (United States)
RCTs

Randomized Controlled Trials
RSVP
Retired Senior Volunteer Program (United States)
SAFCC
Smart and Age-Friendly Cities and Communities
SEN@ER
Silver Economy Network of European Regions
SES
Senior Experten Service (Germany)
SHRCs
Silver Human Resource Centers (Japan)
SMART

Objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Assignable,
Realistic, and Time-related
SME
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
SROI
Social Return on Investment
SWOT
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
U3A
University of the Third Age
UK
United Kingdom

UN
United Nations
UNAR-CFTC
Union Nationale des Retraités (France)
UNCROP
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older People
UNCRPD
United Nations Convention on the Rights of People
with Disabilities
UNECE
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
US or USA

United States of America


xx 

List of Abbreviations

WCMT
WEF
WHCOA
WHO

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (United Kingdom)
World Economic Forum
White House Conference on Aging (United States)
World Health Organization


List

Fig. 2.1
Fig. 7.1
Fig. 8.1
Fig. 8.2

Fig. 8.3

of

Figures

Stages of the policy design cycle
Proposed principles of the creative ageing policy
Inputs, outputs, outcomes, impact, and equity in the
creative ageing policy
Selected potential benefits and outcomes of the creative
ageing policy

Basic stages of the creative ageing programs

21
201
209
214
236

xxi


List

Table 1.1
Table 3.1
Table 4.1
Table 5.1
Table 6.1
Table 7.1
Table 8.1
Table 8.2
Table 8.3
Table 8.4

of

Tables

Comparison of the “old” and “new” ageing interest groups
Selected theories for the analysis of ageing policies at various
levels of the social system
Types and characteristics of ageing policy concepts
Selected features of the creative ageing movement
Selected aims of the creative ageing policy
Typical principles of public policy
Types of entities and programs related to the creative

ageing policy
Ageing services and health care programs in the
creative ageing policy
Arts, education, and community building programs
in the creative ageing policy
Creativity and innovation programs in the creative
ageing policy

8
36
59
146

179
192
221
222
225
231

xxiii


Introduction

Abstract: This chapter describes the theoretical and methodological
approach used in the book. The introductory chapter provides basic explanations and evidence for undertaking the theme of creative ageing, the
scope and limits of the research, the principal hypothesis of the book, the
target audience of the book, and the potential benefits for readers. This
overview covers the description of the structure of the book as well as a
discussion of topics and themes analyzed in the following chapters.
Keywords: Capabilities approach; Creative ageing; Design; Innovation;
Population ageing
The main goal of this book is a better understanding of the assumptions
of existing innovative public policy ideas that may be used to construct
positive answers for an ageing population.
The first volume of the Economic Foundations for Creative Ageing

Policy highlighted the unprecedented scale of population ageing in the
early twenty-first century. Population aged 60 or over is the fastest growing both in countries of the Global North and the Global South. Thus,
there is a clear need to research and construct the solutions that will be
reducing ageism and negative risk related to intergenerational tensions
and conflicts. In fact, in recent years all over the world, many grassroots
initiatives focused on technological innovations (such as gerontechnologies) and social innovations for ageing societies have been already established. These “bottom-up” actions, organizations, and non-formal groups
are not waiting any longer for public policies implemented from “topdown” by international, national, regional, and local authorities that will
simply work for the common and public good. Connections, cooperation,
xxv


xxvi 

Introduction

and coordination between these two approaches are needed to increase
the quality of human life, that is, both for older adults and younger but
already ageing generations.
At this point, we need to underline the relationship of an ageing population with the advent of groundbreaking socioeconomic changes. One of
the important phenomena of the twenty-first century will be the emergence
of “aged economies.” The Latin American and Caribbean Demographic
Centre—Population Division of the United Nations (UN) Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CELADE-ECLAC)
described this process on the basis of the UN population projections and

the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) project.19 CELADE-ECLAC by
using data about consumption patterns by age estimated the aggregate
amount consumed by the population aged 60 or over in comparison to
amount consumed by youth (ages 0 to 19). As a result, it was found that
in 1980 there were no aged economies on the globe, while in 2010 there
already existed 23 economies that were characterized by higher resource
consumption devoted to older adults than to youth. These economies are
located only in Europe and Japan. However, it is anticipated that in 2040
the number of aged economies will increase to 89 and in 2070 to 155.
The phenomenon of aged economies is still new; thus, not many distinct
characteristics of their consequences were described so far, for example,
economic growth, social inequalities, intergenerational relations, sustainability, pension systems, health care systems, and political stability.

The uncertainty is also associated with responses to the challenges of an
ageing population. How many of aged economies will be organized in a
way that will create complex and cohesive systems of the “silver economy”
that will not be limited only to an affluent consumer market? How many
of these economies will be able to use the perspectives of a mixed economy
of welfare (mixed welfare systems) and multisectoral analysis in order to
combine the silver economy, the social and solidarity economy, and the
creative economy to increase the availability of products and services for
older people and ageing societies? Moreover, how many of aged economies will be characterized by insufficient levels of health financing, service
delivery, and age-friendly infrastructure as well as problems with transforming the workforce, ensuring access to technologies, and undertaking
the mainstreaming ageing into various national, regional, and local strategies and to improve leadership, citizen involvement, and governance?
Many experts assume that older consumers will reorganize markets due

to high and less or more conscious demand for various new technolo-


Introduction 

xxvii

gies.20 Examples include wearable technologies, 3D printing, technologies
for smart homes and cities, mobile health services, autonomous cars, and
cars with easy entry and exit. However, not everyone will have the access
to all these solutions. Everett M. Rogers already in the 1960s showed
that the diffusion of innovations is always characterized by the groups of

the “late majority” and “laggards.”21 The first group has a high degree of
skepticism to new solutions, lower socioeconomic status, and less financial
resources. The second group has an aversion to change agents, focuses
on traditions as well as having the lowest socioeconomic status and insufficient financial resources or is poor.
With reference to Guy Standing’s concept of “precarization,” we also
need to highlight that the future generations may be characterized by
social, health, and economic inequalities in old age that have not been
seen in the past. The precarity refers to low income associated with low
level of financial security for retirement observed at the beginning of the
twenty-first century. This phenomenon among older adults has an influence on the loss of behavioral, social, and psychological resources, health,
well-being, everyday life, discontinuity of identity, and problems with
time control.22 What if such issues will not be resolved in the near future?

So-called sharing economy (or “collaborative consumption”) is spreading
all over the world in recent years and triggering a “creative destruction” or
“disruption.” This business model is a good example that without regulatory activities the precarization will be further expanding. For example, online services of companies such as Uber and Airbnb are criticized
because they are changing full-time work of traditional businesses in the
taxi industry and the hospitality industry into part-time employment with
the use of sharing of cars, homes, and free time owned by users of these
online services.23 At the same time, some older adults are already trying to
work for additional money by driving their cars for Uber and renting out
free rooms in their homes for Airbnb. Such “commercialized sharing,”
“platform capitalism,” the “freelance economy,” the “gig economy,” or as
some even think “techno-feudalism” is already sometimes confused with
the social economy and the solidarity economy (described in volume one)

that are actually inverted in the aims and tools.
Another process that needs to be taken into consideration by social
theories of ageing is emergence of a “labor-light” economy, also called
a third or fourth industrial revolution, that is, economy characterized by
widespread use of automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, digitization,
developments in genetics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, smart technolo-