Seminars
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May 6, 2008
time: 15:00The impact of ageing on societal and family structures: a comparative perspective
speaker: Chiara Saraceno - Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung
place: Hörsaal Abbe-Zentrum Beutenberg
Population ageing concerns both societies and families, both macro and micro structures and dynamics. Due to the interplay between past and present demographic behaviour on the one hand, institutional contexts on the other hand, both population and family ageing present themselves differently in different countries with regard to the intensity and pace of ageing as well as to the resources available to face it.
In particular:
While ageing is highly debated as a population and welfare sustainability issue, it is much less focused upon as a family issue and dimension (except in studies on care giving). There is a general disjuncture in research, theory and policies between the focus on “social generations”, or age groups, and family generations. This results also in simplistic theories about intergenerational conflict and about weakening family solidarities in increasing individualised societies. As a matter of fact, horizontal, intra-generational ties are shrinking, but vertical ties across generations are lengthening, becoming more complex and more durable than ever in history. Intergenerational redistribution within families may be partly or totally (in the case of financial redistribution) opposite to that described when talking of the pension or health system.
In particular:
The countries of Southern Europe, with their low fertility, ‘familist’ traditions, low female workforce participation rates, high unemployment and rigid labour regulations, resemble somewhat the low fertility developed societies of Asia (for example Japan, South Korea and Singapore).
The countries of North-Western Europe, with their higher birth rates, high levels of cohabitation and births outside marriage, weak kinship structures and high female workforce participation resemble more the populations of the English-speaking world overseas, although they differ radically from the United States (less from Canada) in terms of welfare provision and taxation.
Within the continental countries Germany and France present different, if not opposite patterns (France is now the EU country with the highest fertility).
While ageing is highly debated as a population and welfare sustainability issue, it is much less focused upon as a family issue and dimension (except in studies on care giving). There is a general disjuncture in research, theory and policies between the focus on “social generations”, or age groups, and family generations. This results also in simplistic theories about intergenerational conflict and about weakening family solidarities in increasing individualised societies. As a matter of fact, horizontal, intra-generational ties are shrinking, but vertical ties across generations are lengthening, becoming more complex and more durable than ever in history. Intergenerational redistribution within families may be partly or totally (in the case of financial redistribution) opposite to that described when talking of the pension or health system.
