Active ageing in Europe and China : a political economy perspective

The focus of this lecture is Active Ageing, and particularly the application of the concept in social policy. The lecture begins by examining the relationship between social policy and demography, showing that welfare regimes matter. Then it locates the concept of active ageing within its social scientific context, to clarify the ideas behind it. Then it describes how the concept was adopted and applied by policy makers in Europe – the world’s oldest region. However, because of the combination of neoliberal domination in policy processes and the failure to understand the life course nature of ageing, the application took a very narrow economistic form. The limits of this approach are discussed. Then attention turns to China and the limited steps it has taken so far towards adopting this strategy. Finally, the lecture demonstrates, using recent research evidence, how active ageing could both enhance older people’s lives and those who are ageing, and enable societies East and West to age sustainably.