Title:	Old Age in Europe
Authors:	Kathrin Komp Marja Aartsen
Keywords:	Old Age
Issue Date:	2013
Publisher:	Springer
Description:	Everybody knows that the world is ageing, but Europe got there first (along with Japan). Therefore Europe has much to show the world, as well as itself, about the ageing process. This textbook sets out to do that and it will be a valuable source of reference for students of gerontology across the globe. The disciplinary approach provides easy access to the key dimensions of ageing which the editors knit together in their opening and concluding chapters. Like the first such survey of ageing in Europe (Walker and Maltby 1997) this book’s central message is one of heterogeneity. This ‘unequal ageing’ takes two forms. First, there are huge differences in the experience of ageing between European countries, on both the north/south and east/west axes. At their bluntest these differences are revealed in the very expectation of life. For example healthy life expectancy at age 65 is 3 years for both men and women in Estonia compared to 13 years for women and 14 for men in Denmark. Second, there are inequalities within countries with regard to life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and a wide range of indicators of economic, social and psychological well-being. These inequalities are created by social and economic forces, not biological ones, and are commonly expressed in terms of gender, age, social class, race and ethnicity (Cann and Dean 2009). For example in all European countries women are more likely than men to be poor in old age and in some countries, much more likely. Thus, as this book demonstrates, we cannot understand the meaning of ageing in Europe without confronting unequal ageing. In practical policy terms this means that simplistic, one size fits all, approaches are likely to fail. Instead more sophisticated policy instruments are needed to recognise and then prevent or ameliorate inequalities. At the European level key policy goals, such as active ageing, have to be tailored to reflect the differences between and within countries in the experience of ageing. Only then can we claim to have a truly inclusive approach.This book will help in that endeavour, by drawing on the best current scientific evidence and using it to illustrate the meaning and importance of ageing for Europe and its citizens.
URI:	http://10.6.20.12:80/handle/123456789/52524
ISBN:	978-94-007-6134-6
Appears in Collections:	Population Studies

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