Coming to Terms with an Ageing Europe
Europe’s population is ageing rapidly. The consequences of this profound demographic change will pose multiple challenges for economic and social governance, particularly for the future of welfare states. Although the conception of a ‘European social model’ is ill-defined and there are marked differences in the mix and generosity of social policies provided in different European countries, the contrast with the very different models in most other parts of the world are nevertheless striking. Europeans expect, and are offered, adequate pensions and social care for the elderly, substantial public funding for health-care, unemployment benefits, and a range of other policies aimed at mitigating social risks.
In this policy brief, Iain Begg and Lisa ten Brinke assess the merits of five approaches to providing social services as the ratio of workers to dependents narrows.
Read the policy brief here.
Professor Iain Begg is the Academic Co-Director of the Dahrendorf Forum and Co-Chair of the Dahrendorf Working Group “The Future Of European Governance”. He is also a Professorial Research Fellow in the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Lisa ten Brinke is a Research Associate at the Dahrendorf Forum. She is based at LSE IDEAS, the foreign policy think tank of the London School of Economics.