Around the world, the economic conditions of the elderly are changing rapidly. On one hand, we are seeing the new elderly reach retirement with significant financial assets, in particular among households where both spouses have extensive labor market experience. On the other hand, transformations in the workplace imply that employer pension plans are vastly different from what they were in the past, leading retirees to face potentially more risks – and more complex decisions – than they did. Adding to these factors, trends in population health are mixed, some forces indicating that the future elderly will be healthier while others would suggest more years spent in worse health. With governments beginning to feel the heat from these mounting pressures, and societies – including employers offering retirement saving programs – looking to adapt, this conference aims to shed further light on various dimensions of the well-being of the future elderly population.
Conference organizers are seeking communications that focus on the following dimensions:
- Economic conditions of the elderly (e.g. poverty, wealth, income, subjective well-being)
- Health and cognitive status of the elderly
- Consumption, expenditures and time use of the elderly
- Value of insurance against various risks faced at older ages
- Informal and formal care for the elderly
- Relationship between retiree well-being and earlier economic and life conditions
In particular, the conference seeks to present applied research that exploits longitudinal data from various countries or that is comparative in nature. Organizers are also interested more generally in quantitative research that helps to better understand the behaviour and well-being of the elderly; such research may be rooted in economics, demography, sociology, epidemiology, or in other social and health disciplines. Organizers are pleased to announce the following keynote speakers for the event: • Axel Börsch-Supan, Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy • Arie Kapteyn, Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California Approximately 10 papers will be presented over these two days in a format convenient for feedback and discussions. Take a look at the PDF for more information. Those interested in presenting at the conference should send a complete draft of their paper to David Boisclair (boisclad@gmail.com), coordinator of the Industrial Alliance Research Chair on the Economics of Demographic Change, no later than September 1st, 2016. Authors whose paper is accepted for presentation at the conference will have their travel expenses covered by the organizers.