Ageing societies: Social, economic and political consequences

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This multidisciplinary and eminently practical subject is aimed at getting to know the changes that population ageing is going to have on politics, the economy and society. Throughout the course, these types of questions shall be answered: How is population ageing affecting the labour market? Is there a generational conflict between young and elderly people? Can we continue working until over 70? What kind of home care models for dependent elderly people work best in Western countries?

Although population ageing affects all western countries, they are adapting to this process very differently. This divergent reality is a transversal aspect of the subject, in which the countries of southern, central and northern Europe are compared as well as those of the USA.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course the students will be able to:

- explain the reasons why Western societies are ageing.

- know the social, economic and political consequences of ageing population.

- know the different ways Western societies are adapting in the face of the ageing population process.

- develop practical skills for solving problems related to ageing population.

- know the main debates related to population ageing.

- know how to debate academically and democratically with regard to the main issues related to ageing population.