Symposium IdA-EULAC-AFD-MEAE 2024

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Most countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe are experiencing an accelerated process of demographic aging, characterized by an increase in the proportion of elderly and very elderly people in the population. According to Cepal's 2022 report, the Latin American and Caribbean region has experienced a more rapid aging process than other regions of the world: in 1950, people aged 60 and over represented 5.2% of the total population; by 2022, this figure had risen to 13.4%, a proportion expected to reach 16.5% by 2030. In Europe, the aging of the population has been more precocious and, according to the European Commission, by 2020, 20% of the population will already be aged 60 and over.
Demographic aging is the result of intertwined dynamics: declining fertility and mortality at younger ages (aging at the bottom of the pyramid), extended longevity or a delay in the average age at which older people die (aging at the top), and net migration. Emigration of adults and young men and women has played a major role in the aging of the populations of various Latin American and Caribbean countries, whereas in Western Europe, immigration tends to slow down the aging process, contributing to the renewal of young and adult populations, and thus to the birth rate.  

Life expectancy for both sexes has risen significantly, from 48.6 years in 1950 to 75.1 years in 2019 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and from 62.8 to 79.1 years, respectively, in Europe. With advancing age, the feminization of the elderly asserts itself, due to the greater longevity of women, who nevertheless live more years in poor health. Despite the setback caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy should continue to rise in both regions in the future. While the "young-old" regularly engage in useful family and social activities, the growing numbers of very old people, who are more likely to suffer from reduced autonomy, and chronic or degenerative conditions, represent a major challenge to national and territorial public social protection policies and to local and family arrangements for support and social inclusion.

The aging process encompasses a multitude of situations, and regional averages mask marked differences between countries, both in terms of the speed of the transition from a young to an aging  society, and the intensity of the process. Nor is the situation homogeneous on a more individual or local scale, due to inequalities in life expectancy gains for the elderly, their state of health (particularly to the detriment of women and the poorest groups or those exposed to environmental risks), their material living conditions (housing, food, employment conditions, access to quality public services, territory) and the support they receive from their social and family environment, which can amplify their vulnerability or help to reduce it.

Taken at an individual level, aging is accompanied by a growing demand for social benefits, healthcare and assistance, which raises questions about how to cover the risk of survival at advanced ages and the level of protection to be provided (round table 1), and how to organize care for people losing their independence (round table 2). Taken on a population scale, aging raises questions about the financial sustainability of public policies for the elderly, but also about regional planning and the maintenance of social cohesion (round table 3).
 

Round table moderated by: Alfonso Martinez Saenz

Speakers : 

• Anne-Marie GUILLEMARD, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Université Paris Cité, Researcher at the Centre d'Etude des Mouvements Sociaux, EHESS/CNRS/INSERM
• Anne LAVIGNE, Professor of Economics, Université d'Orléans
• Yorleny LEÓN MARCHENA, Minister for Human Development and social inclusion 
• Anthony MARINO, Head of the Pensions Office, DREES
• Jeannette SÁNCHEZ, Representative of the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, CAF, in Bolivia

Scientific argument: 

Since the 1990s, the social protection systems historically established in both regions have undergone significant reform. While the extension of social coverage and the strengthening of protection levels have been common objectives, much remains to be done. In Latin America and the Caribbean, it is estimated that 40% of workers and their families do not benefit from any form of social protection, due to the characteristics of labor markets and migratory flows, particularly to the detriment of women. In most European countries, almost the entire population is covered by one or more forms of social protection, but some groups remain poorly protected, and there are considerable differences in levels of protection. For example, the average retirement pension for women is 39% lower than for men. Moreover, universalization strategies have often been implemented at the cost of reducing levels of protection and fragmenting coverage. Tax-advantaged private insurance products exacerbate inequalities in levels of protection. What's more, despite reforms to make social protection systems more solvent, these protection schemes present limited institutional performance in terms of management, unstable financing modes and maintain strong inequalities, particularly in terms of gender and ethnic origin: elderly working-class women, especially when they belong to ethnic minorities, remain the most vulnerable.
This round-table will discuss the advances and challenges facing public policies to extend social coverage for the elderly, whether contributory (contributory retirement pensions) or financed by public budgets (minimum social benefits, specific services and other benefits offered by local authorities).
 

Round table moderated by: Olivier Giraud 

Speakers: 

• Merike BLOFIELD, Professor of Political Science at the University of Hamburg, specializing in health and social policy issues.
• Alfredo GONZALEZ REYES, Political scientist and former executive secretary of the National Council for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the Mexican government.
• Karolin KILLMEIER, Analyst at the Directorate for Employment, Labor and Social Affairs of the OECD.

Scientific argument: 

In the countries covered by this symposium, the organization of care provision has emerged in recent years as a public issue, especially in those countries most affected by demographic aging and those with the most advanced social policies, whether Latin American and Caribbean or European. Despite the recognition, more or less asserted, of the co-responsibility of public institutions in satisfying the care needs associated with aging, these needs remain largely referred back to family responsibilities or met by the unequal dynamics of the market. The progress of public policies, the degree of political consensus and the financing methods implemented thus reveal vast disparities. In particular, these disparities concern the effective capacity of families - and especially women - to share care responsibilities with professionals and public institutions. They also concern the regulation of the commodification of long-term care through private or social insurance systems and demand- or supply-side subsidies, and the professionalization and social protection of care providers.
These public policies and programs are grafted onto healthcare systems whose organization, quality and accessibility for various social and economic groups vary from one country to another (public health services, privatization and commercialization, services linked to social or private insurance schemes, programs targeting vulnerable social categories). Yet the more difficult or exclusive access to quality healthcare services becomes, the greater the burden on families. Considerations of gender and ethnic origin are at the heart of the issue of health care (cure) and personal care (care), since women demonstrate a longer longevity than men, but more years in poor health; they are the main providers of care in the family and institutional setting; and women of foreign origin, or marked by their ethnic origin, make up the bulk of the professional or informal care workforce.
This round table will look at how the provision of health care (cure) and personal care (care) for people losing their autonomy is organized socially and economically, at the intersection of public policy, the market, and the social, moral and gender norms prevalent within families and societies.

Round table moderated by: Isabelle Chariglione

Confirmed speakers:

• Barbara BRINGUIER, Overseas and International Regional Director, Les Petits Frères des Pauvres association
• Sandra HUENCHUAN, specialist in ageing at the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE) - Population Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
• Pierre-Olivier LEFEBVRE, General Delegate, Réseau Francophone des Villes Amies des Aînés (French-speaking Network of Age-Friendly Cities)
• Diana MEJIA, representative of the "Familias de Cariño" government program in the Dominican Republic 

Scientific argument: 

 The local area plays a crucial role in the daily lives of older people, whether they live in urban or rural areas. While intergenerational cohabitation remains a model of household organization, it is tending to decline, and in all the countries covered by this symposium, there is a growing proportion of older people living alone or in households composed exclusively of seniors.
The challenge of their social inclusion and citizenship on a territorial level is thus increasingly posed independently of the mediation of intergenerational families. New generations of older people are often more independent, better educated and more committed than their predecessors, even though many of them are frequently caught up in difficult everyday life and family demands (participation in domestic and care tasks).
It is above all in their proximity, vicinity and surroundings that these people satisfy their supply needs, find relational resources and solidarity or suffer from loneliness, move around in conditions of comfort or insecurity, feel included and considered or encounter explicit or negligent discrimination, and enjoy quality public services or suffer from their inadequacy and remoteness. It is also at this spatial scale that they manage to maintain active civic participation, engage in collectives and associations, develop integrative and intergenerational activities, and benefit from adequate services and resources offered by civil society organizations and national or local public policies. Numerous initiatives have emerged to integrate, socialize and maintain the citizenship of the elderly, many of them generated by their mobilization and commitment, whether formalized in schemes such as Age-friendly cities or local policies, or remaining informal in social practices rooted in local cultures or deliberate solidarity movements.
This round-table discussion will highlight the social and citizenship issues raised by aging and the presence of older people at local level, and will highlight the initiatives and projects emerging in response.