Inequality in active ageing

Evidence from a new individual-level index for European countries

Bibliographic Data

ID11202121
AuthorsMIKKEL BARSLUND (0000-0001-6539-642X, Centre for European Policy Studies, corresponding author), MARTEN VON WERDER (0000-0001-5711-6213, Freie Universität Berlin), Asghar Zaidi (0000-0003-3004-6387, University of Southampton)
Year2019
Volume39
Issue3
Pages541-567
Publication date2019-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x17001052
OpenAlexW2763579347
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited15

In the context of emerging challenges and opportunities associated with population ageing, the study of inequality in active-ageing outcomes is critical to the design of appropriate and effective social policies. While there is much discussion about active ageing at the aggregate country level, little is known about inequality in active-ageing experiences within countries. Based on the existing literature on active ageing, this paper proposes an individual-level composite active ageing index based on Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data. The individual-level nature of the index allows us to analyse inequality in experiences of active ageing within selected European countries. One important motivation behind measuring active ageing at the individual level is that it allows for a better understanding of unequal experiences of ageing, which may otherwise be masked in aggregate-level measures of active ageing. Results show large differences in the distribution of individual-level active ageing across the 13 European countries covered and across age groups. Furthermore, there is a positive association between the country-level active ageing index and the equality of its distribution within a country. Hence, countries with the lowest average active ageing index tend to have the most unequal distribution in active-ageing experiences. For nine European countries, where temporal data are also available, we find that inequality in active-ageing outcomes decreased in the period 2004 to 2013

Active ageing · Ageing · Context (archaeology) · Demographic economics · Distribution (mathematics) · Economics · Geography · Healthy ageing · Index (typography) · Inequality · Older people · Population · Population ageing · Sociology · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Retirement, Disability, and Employment · Gerontology