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Good Health and Well-Being
Migration and Older Age
июл. 2016
Working Paper
The UNECE region is experiencing a steady increase in the number and diversity of retired labour migrants and migrant eldercare workers. The international mobility of older persons is also on the rise. Yet the participation of migrants in the host communities and their access to welfare remains a challenging issue. Compared to native-born peers older migrants are often more vulnerable to poor socio-economic and health status social isolation and exclusion. Lower income poorer working and housing conditions including their concentration in low-income neighbourhoods are among the factors affecting the life trajectories of many migrants. Migrant elder carers – independent of their age – often work informally without proper employment contracts and with limited access to health and social protection. There is however heterogeneity and variation in older migrants’ vulnerabilities and needs across and within ethnic groups with consequent important welfare implications which call for targeted policy responses at local national and international levels. A sound evidence base for such policy responses is lacking as older migrants are often overlooked in research mainly due to a lack of data.
Older Persons as Consumers
нояб. 2009
Working Paper
In an ageing society one aim is to further enhance the social economic political and cultural participation of older persons. […] Older persons should therefore be recognized as a significant consumer group with shared and specific needs interests and preferences. Governments service providers and civil society should take into account the views of older persons on the design of products and delivery of services.
Images of Older Persons
янв. 2012
Working Paper
The economic and societal implications that result from demographic change may have an impact on how certain generations or age-groups are perceived by the majority of the population or community. Often older family members or neighbours are respected and well integrated members of their community. They also often dispose of a considerable knowledge experience and consumer power through life-long accumulated savings. Older persons are thus able to assist younger family members and their community with advice through gained experience. But in some cases older persons are faced with neglect and negative stereotypes. A displacement of older persons into segregated communities an undervaluing of their contributions to society and negative media portrayals contribute to a decrease in face-to-face contact with older persons foster the growth of a gap between generations and a general lack of empathy towards people of different age-groups.
Abuse of Older Persons
окт. 2013
Working Paper
Population ageing in UNECE member States has given rise to fears that abuse of older persons may increase in its incidence prevalence and complexity. Stereotypes may provide the breeding ground for abuse in society. Given the taboo attached to the topic abuse and neglect are often underreported. Older people may be silent for fear of exposing a family member losing services or being institutionalized. Therefore there is a lack of reliable internationally comparable data to evaluate the phenomenon.
Lifelong Learning
мар. 2010
Working Paper
Populations in the UNECE region are ageing rapidly. To maintain economic growth and standard of living people would need to work longer before they can retire. Regarding people who are currently in their working age demographic change may require to include those into the labour market who were previously not fully integrated such as early school leavers women and migrants. In a knowledge society this all requires a good standard of basic education as well as vocational training tertiary education information and communication technology (ICT) and language skills.
Caregiving in an Ageing World
нояб. 2022
Working Paper
People in almost all countries are living longer. Globally babies born in 2022 are expected to live 71.7 years on average 25 years longer than those born in 1950. Rapidly ageing populations have increasing health and long-term care needs. As the forthcoming World Social Report 2023 discusses however today’s care and support systems for older persons are insufficient requiring greater policy attention. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed existing weaknesses across countries in approaches to long-term care and showed how these weaknesses can aggravate inequalities. Poor quality and underfunded care facilities insufficient provisions for care at home low wages and precarious working conditions for paid care workers all contributed to increasing the already significant threat of Covid-19 for older persons (United Nations 2020). The speed of change and the scale of the crisis have strengthened the call for fundamental reform of approaches to long-term care. Failure to do so will harm today’s older persons and those who care for them as well as future generations of older persons.
Age-friendly Employment: Policies and Practices
янв. 2011
Working Paper
In many UNECE countries the average actual retirement age is below the statutory retirement age which means that the labour market is losing a great deal of resources in terms of experience and labour capacity of older workers. Ageing societies however cannot afford to lose the highly valuable resource of older workers. If there are people aged 55 years or older who want to work but cannot due to unfavourable conditions in the labour market UNECE member States may wish to address this issue.
Old Age Inequality Begins at Birth
янв. 2023
Working Paper
Old age disadvantage begins at birth. Much of the inequality between older persons has its roots in early life conditions. Without policies to prevent it disadvantages reinforce one another through peoples’ lives leading to large disparities among older adults. A life course perspective on ageing is critical to improving people’s health and well-being throughout the life course into old age. The onset and severity of disability – affecting either physical or mental health – profoundly impacts the lives of people and their families and incurs large economic and societal costs in terms of health care and caregiving needs. Disability is a key outcome of unequal ageing as it has been tied to both early life conditions such as childhood poverty and later life risk factors including health behaviors occupation and chronic stress. Examining physical functional limitations as a measure of disability lends itself to cross-national comparisons of inequalities in health in old age as it measures difficulties that people face in carrying out tasks in their daily living and does not depend on access to health care and medical professionals for diagnosis as is the case for examining differences in the prevalence of diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Realizing the Potential of Living Longer
сент. 2017
Working Paper
Policy responses to population ageing to date have primarily focused on adapting welfare systems to the challenges of demographic change. Much less attention is being paid to the opportunities and potentials that living longer holds for individuals economies and society at large and to tackling the barriers that currently hinder their full realization. Perceiving longevity mainly as a fiscal pressure and an obstacle to economic growth may trigger reforms that result in rising inequalities. This can occur when the cumulative disadvantages stemming from difficulties in transitions over the life course ill health and disability and unpaid caregiving are insufficiently addressed. It also feeds into age-based stereotypes and negative attitudes towards older people. To change this it is essential to better recognize the potentials of ageing societies and to enable people to live active and fulfilling lives as they age.
Combating Ageism in the World of Work
февр. 2019
Working Paper
Ageism is the stereotyping prejudice and discrimination against people based on their age. Many older workers face ageism when looking for new jobs training opportunities and career development or are pushed to leave into early retirement in times of economic recession. Ageism in the labour market is costly to businesses who do not make the most of their ageing workforce. At the individual level ageism has been shown to negatively affect health and well-being. The complexity and intersectionality of the phenomenon needs to be addressed now. Deeply rooted stereotypes prejudices and discriminatory practices take time to change. Combating ageism in the world of work requires removing ageist provisions in the legal and regulatory framework addressing prejudice and negative stereotypes about older workers and encouraging age-inclusive and age-diverse workplaces that offer equal opportunities for all generations.
Tapping the Potential of Volunteering
янв. 2011
Working Paper
The concept of volunteering has many aspects. Across the UNECE region there is no unified definition of volunteering in terms of pay duration of activity or content of work. In this context a clear distinction between regular employment and volunteering must be drawn which must go beyond the mere presence or absence of remuneration. Benefits for volunteers need to be clearly outlined e.g. training opportunities social participation and inclusion as well as other aspects. Older persons benefit from volunteering both as providers and as recipients. Promoting these activities is therefore in the interest of every government. Such promotion can be achieved by offering support to organizations and volunteers through the strategies outlined in this policy brief.
Mainstreaming Ageing
нояб. 2009
Working Paper
Population ageing has important and far-reaching implications across all spheres of society. Ageing-related issues therefore need to be integrated into all policy fields in order to bring societies and economies in harmony with demographic change. This policy brief looks at how Governments can do this and provides selected examples. It also addresses the ways in which all age groups can be equally involved in designing implementing and evaluating ageing-related policies and programmes.
Older Persons in Rural and Remote Areas
мар. 2017
Working Paper
Rural and remote areas in many countries experience more pronounced population ageing than urban areas and subsequently have a higher share of older residents. Lower population density and more geographically dispersed populations make it more difficult and expensive to create and maintain a comprehensive service infrastructure as common in urban areas. Consequently rural populations have less access to services and activities and their situation may aggravate further when combined with poorer socio-economic conditions. This puts rural populations at a disadvantage compared to urban ones and can be particularly problematic for older people who may face a greater risk of social isolation reduced mobility lack of support and health care deficits as a result of the place in which they live.
The Impact of COVID-19 on South-East Asia
сент. 2020
Working Paper
The health economic and political impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has been significant across South-East Asia but the virus has not spread as rapidly here as in other parts of the world. There is much to learn from the response to date of countries in the subregion as governments have acted swiftly and despite limited fiscal space to contain the pandemic and avoid its worst effects. This policy brief examines how the eleven countries of South-East Asia are coping with the immediate impacts of COVID-19 focusing on the subregion’s socio-economic response and providing four sets of recommendations for a recovery that leads to a more sustainable resilient and inclusive future.
COVID-19 and Transforming Tourism
авг. 2020
Working Paper
Tourism provides livelihoods for millions of people and allows billions more to appreciate their own and different cultures as well as the natural world. For some countries it can represent over 20 per cent of their GDP and overall it is the third largest export sector of the global economy. Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic impacting economies livelihoods public services and opportunities on all continents. While sustaining the livelihoods dependent on the sector must be a priority rebuilding tourism is also an opportunity for transformation with a focus on leveraging its impact on destinations visited and building more resilient communities and businesses through innovation digitalization sustainability and partnerships.
Adding Fuel to the Fire? Inequality and the Spread of COVID-19
июл. 2022
Working Paper
The pandemic has progressed differently across the world. Using monthly data on COVID-19 cases and fatalities we evaluate whether income inequality is an important factor in explaining cross-country differences in the spread and mortality of the virus. The results show that income inequality is positively correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases. Higher income inequality is associated with a more rapid spread of the virus and an increase in the number of cases indirectly increasing mortality rates as well. Also higher levels of inequality are associated with reduced effectiveness of social distancing measures in containing new infections. Thus elevated inequalities place societies in a more vulnerable position to confront this pandemic and more unequal countries would need more robust public responses to contain the spread of the virus.
Older Persons in Vulnerable Situations
июн. 2023
Working Paper
At any age intersecting factors such as poverty disability social isolation and exposure to abuse can increase the risk of vulnerability and weaken resilience in the case of adverse events. The COVID-19 pandemic rising inflation natural disasters and war are examples of adverse events that have disproportionately affected vulnerable persons including many older persons. Often the capacities and vulnerabilities of older persons remain invisible as their voices are less heard and their needs less known due to a lack of data and research and their insufficient involvement in decision-making. A key challenge therefore is to inform design and implement comprehensive policies that protect vulnerable older persons from adverse outcomes enhance resilience and allow them to fulfil their full potential in later life. The policy strategies presented in this Policy Brief cover the areas of income and housing health and long-term care prevention of violence abuse and neglect and social participation as well as the importance of adequate data and research and the involvement of older persons in decision-making.
Economic Growth and Social Reproduction
сент. 2015
Working Paper
This work develops a set of regimes that link structures of economic growth with those of social reproduction. These regimes are then linked to groups of countries organized by economic structure and level of development to evaluate the macroeconomic consequences of a decline in gender inequality in the labour market. Social reproduction is defined in terms of the time and money it takes to produce maintain and invest in the labour force so it includes both paid and unpaid care work. The analytical emphasis is on how the distributions of production and reproduction among women men the state and capital determine investment and growth and how gender inequality is both cause and consequence of these relationships.
Investing in Free Universal Childcare in South Africa, Turkey and Uruguay
мая 2019
Working Paper
This discussion paper makes the case for investing in free universal childcare services of high quality in order to reduce gender inequality in earnings and employment. It estimates the employment-generating and fiscal effects of investing in free universal childcare in three middle income countries: South Africa Uruguay and Turkey. It calculates the total annual costs of investing in high-quality childcare services that would cover the entire population of children below primary school age using parameters relevant to each national context. Results show that employment rates can be significantly increased especially for women as a result of the combined direct indirect and induced job creation. Although the total annual cost of such investment can go up to 3 to 4 per cent of GDP the net cost can be halved thanks to significant fiscal returns stemming from increased employment and earnings without changing the tax structure itself (rates and bands). Results are compared with those obtained using a similar method for the United Kingdom and show that the reach of a country’s tax system plays an important role in the funding process. The paper also estimates a theoretical fiscal break-even point based on longitudinal labour supply effects of mothers closing their lifetime employment and earning gap following such generous childcare offer. In all three countries and the United Kingdom the fiscal return on investment based on this measure is likely to outstrip the total cost of childcare for a typical mother of two children on average earnings.
COVID-19 y la economía de los cuidados
июл. 2020
Working Paper
En este documento se presentan nuevas evidencias sobre los efectos de la pandemia mundial del COVID-19 en la economía de los cuidados. Como complemento de otro documento de políticas de ONU Mujeres “Abordar las consecuencias económicas del COVID-19” en este se destaca un conjunto de medidas clave para abordar el incremento del trabajo de cuidados no remunerado derivado de la pandemia garantizar una compensación adecuada y condiciones de trabajo dignas para quienes se desempeñan en este sector de manera remunerada y permitir la participación de quienes prestan cuidados remunerados y no remunerados en las decisiones políticas que les afectan. También se brindan recomendaciones que podrían considerar los actores interesados desde gobiernos hasta organizaciones internacionales y el sector privado con ejemplos de algunas medidas ya adoptadas.
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