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Based on statistics, it is an indisputable fact that the world population is constantly aging, both in terms of the number and proportion of old people in the total population. Thus, population aging is becoming a significant social transformation that has implications for almost all sectors of society. Older people can be seen as contributors to the development involved in policies and programs at all levels. The inverted population pyramid is becoming increasingly apparent, creating difficulties in maintaining the health and pension systems, especially in countries where the share of the elderly has almost doubled. Recently, the perception of older people has changed. Regardless of the reduced abilities, it should not be forgotten that aging brings some values that integrate them into the social environment. One should not forget the acquired professional knowledge and experience, voluntary work and the like, which can contribute to economic growth. The discussions conducted by economists on the problem of age are predominantly neoclassical. The view from another angle comes from sociology authors, sociological politicians who themselves produced their own “older age policies”. In contrast to neoclassical individualism, the sociological picture of aging outlines the social construction of older age and the structural dependence of the elderly. At the heart of this paper is a view from modern macroeconomics that puts into the forefront a household that uses its intertemporal function to plan its consumption. Theoretical explanations are contained in four main modeling frameworks that have become central tools in economic and age studies: the Ramsay model, the generations model, the perpetual youth model, and the overlapping generations model.
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Life of retired people cannot be financed from the public systems only. The attrition rate has been decreasing for many years and pension systems in many countries are at risk of bankruptcy. The author compares different kinds of investments possible to be made to finance the retirement period. The analysis of risk and return is conducted for typical retirement investments like bonds, stocks, or real estate. The paper aims at answering the question if it is possible to choose the best asset at any time as the retirement time investment. The study is done on the basis of the Polish investor and also contains the analysis of different types of risks concerned with analyzed kinds of assets.
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ICT is considered as one of the fundamental values and contribution to the digital economy. ICT use is becoming an increasingly crucial determinant for the old-age population to meet their demands for high-quality life and low-cost services. However, ICT use, including the employment of online purchase of the elderly population, varies widely among different EU-281 countries. This study aims to investigate Internet usage, especially in terms of online purchase behaviors among elderly Europeans aged 65 and older. Through clustering analysis, the aim of the paper is to identify the heterogeneity in Internet usage among the elderly population in the EU members. Results highlight the gap that exists in the level of online purchasing widely among EU countries.
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Since the world’s population is aging, there have been numerous articles, books, and research conducted on that topic connected with the quality of life, expectations, and realistic possibilities. An additional point in favor of considering the elderly population as an unresearched economy or market is that for the first time since 2018 we have more people over 64 than children younger than 5 years of age. Elderly people today are of course different than previous generations of pensioners. This is especially important when it comes to technology usage. On the other hand, information and communication technology has never been more affordable and accessible. Software solutions have become our everyday passion and mobile devices are the last thing we check before falling asleep. Also, the information, in general, is more important and easier to get and resourceful for different kinds of analysis. The main aim of the chapter is to research ICT options and solutions for the population gathered under the umbrella term Silver Economy (the elderly in our societies). Services and applications which can make their life easier and better will be considered together with preparation of pensioners to use ICT. Mainly analyzing statistical data, the chapter will use a short questionnaire and interviews to check the situation in the local environment. Finally, a comparison will be made among the elderly population in terms of ICT usage in Japan, the USA, the EU, and Croatia.
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The prevalence of the aging society phenomenon in the last decade forces governments, countries, and people to re-evaluate the perspectives and potential of lifelong learning and the effects it has on the society as a whole. According to World Bank data, the percentage in the total world population in the 0-14 year-old segment is declining, while the United Nations predict that by the year 2050 there will be more people over the age of 60 (2.1 billion) than the adolescents and young people aged 10-24 years (2 billion). The segment of elderly people has longer life expectancy and better overall health condition due to advances in medicine and technology. These trends implicate urgency for better inclusion and defining new roles for this segment. The most effective way to do this is to enable the elderly to have access to information and to know how to properly use it. The major role in this shift is certainly played by information and communication technology. The aim of this paper is to examine the state and possibilities of including the elderly as a more active society member through the use of digital technology and lifelong learning.
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The paper presents the concept of the „silver economy” as an economic system related to population aging and underlines the features of this policy idea. The study first introduces the discourse and stages of constructing this system by international and national public policy actors in aging. Next, a critical analysis of the dimensions and areas of implementation and development of the silver economy as a policy concept was carried out as well as a review of its external and internal limitations. The conclusion contains proposals for further research directions.
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With the trends of demographic aging being clearly expressed in this modern age, older persons legal protection has become complex and demanding. The number of older persons is growing continuously and the fastest of all other population groups. It is a very heterogeneous group whose members and their needs are very diverse. Despite this issue's growing relevance, the terminology used to refer to older people is still uneven and often inappropriate. There is neither a generally accepted nor a precise definition of an older person. The legal protection of older persons at the international level is still insufficient. An international treaty on the protection of the rights of older persons has not been adopted yet. This protection relies on the general protection of human rights and several non-binding international instruments. In the Republic of Croatia, older persons protection is based on several regulations from various sectors. It is noted that the problems in exercising their rights are diverse. The biggest problems faced by older persons in the Republic of Croatia fall within the scope of poverty and social exclusion, long-term care, health care, various forms of violence, ageism, stigma, and discrimination. In addition to all these complex and painful problems and the economic crisis that most countries have been going through in recent years, an additional dramatic deterioration in older persons’ status and rights has occurred with the COVID-19 pandemic. The problems older people faced at that time in such circumstances have been further exacerbated. Thus, older persons have been exposed to an increased risk of severe illness and death and the problems related to freedom of movement in general, access to health and social services, access to information, and exposure to ageism and discrimination.
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The contribution of economists in the scientific debate over aging and its impact on society and the economy comes in the form of various theoretical models, particularly from the macroeconomic point of view. The aging problems have been dealt with by using a common approach to problem-solving and interdisciplinarity. In this paper, we took a more straightforward model approach from macroeconomics, Modigliani’s Life-Cycle Hypothesis, whose content can be incorporated into the concept of life cycle theory. In this way, the theory shows how resources are transferred at different times to the outcome logically and rigorously.
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In recent decades, the elderly have an increasing share in the population’s age structure, and the implications of population aging are visible in all aspects of society. A higher proportion of the elderly population is accompanied by an increase in the number of people who spend a more extended period of their lives as retirees, which affects the social redefinition of the concept of retirement. Retirement of entrepreneurs is an essential topic since entrepreneurial retirement reflects its sustainability, which has a broader social role. The biggest challenges related to the retirement of entrepreneurs are those of psychological nature whose causes are found in their almost exclusive focus on the business aspect of life and the lack of development of other interests and contacts outside the business community during the active working period. After retirement, entrepreneurs strive for activities that enable retention of existing patterns of behavior and continuity in developing relationships within the same social groups. The paper presents an example of an association of retired entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, which accomplishes two important goals through its mentoring program, i.e., it enables social inclusion of retired entrepreneurs and enables younger entrepreneurs to successfully overcome business challenges with the mentoring support of retired entrepreneurs. Modeled on the example of good practice from the Netherlands, in early 2020, an association of retired entrepreneurs was launched in Croatia. The topic of the retirement of entrepreneurs and sustainability of their business ventures is crucial to Croatia because of the enormous wave of expected retiree entrepreneurs who founded companies in the 1990s after Croatia transitioned to a market economy. This paper presents qualitative research conducted among retired entrepreneurs in Croatia interested in volunteering as mentors to younger entrepreneurs. The concluding part of the paper points out the need to support the development of programs that enable social inclusion of retired entrepreneurs, applying their knowledge and experience in encouraging the development of entrepreneurship.
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This paper demonstrates a model for predicting natural population change (the number of live births) with digital demography approaches. We demonstrate that this prediction model significantly improves forecast accuracy over several cross-validation criteria. Prediction is done by means of the analytical tool Google Trends, and in the context of the pandemic crisis, the number of births in 2021 will be just 87% of what would otherwise be „a normal year” in Croatia. We estimate that between 12 and 14% fewer children will be born (from 3,400 to 3,800), i.e., about 32,000 – 33,000. Croatia is on its way to becoming an excellent nursing home of the European Union. The causes of natural depopulation in Croatia are complex and intertwined. Increased emigration, demographic aging, the white plague, and challenging economic conditions have a disincentive effect on the natural population change. The country has already unquestionably lost the core of population that creates new generations. Namely, in the last seven years alone (since it became a member of the EU), Croatia has lost 50,000 pupils and gained 50,000 new pensioners. Today, Croatia would have 10% more pupils if there had not been such intensive emigration of the population after joining the EU, and consequently, it would be younger. A particular problem in terms of demographic issues are numerous areas that are becoming a periphery due to young people migration - with already 3/4 of the country being a periphery in the cultural and economic sense. In this paper, we discuss the assumption that emigration and population aging is a process primarily shaped by the lack of modernization policy. The EU, which systematically neglects the demographic issue in the center-periphery relationship, also plays a profound role in this process of mechanical and natural population change in Croatia.
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Older adults are the group vulnerable to various form of exclusion including – among others - the workplace, in the healthcare system, the insurance system, in culture or in digital world. Inclusive actions which – due to the demographic trends - are undertaken globally, have been limited due to SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The coronavirus has touched – directly or non-directly – every single person, forcing them to modify, to stop or to undertake new activities. In many areas its consequences are negative - the pandemic deepened the existing inequalities in such areas as: medical (difficulty in treating conditions other than COVID-19, increasing crisis in the health care system), socio-cultural (limitation of social contacts and in the use of cultural goods and services), economic (job losses and increasing unemployment, bankruptcy of companies, financial state interventions), religious and spiritual (isolation, difficulty in participation in religious ceremonies), political (deepening of socio-political divides du to restrictions, changes in national and international arrangements of political powers). The pandemic increased social isolation of older adults, which they had very often previously experienced. From the beginning, media broadcast underlined that older adults are particular group of people, that should be protected. Thus, many restrictions and recommendation have been implemented, which eventually has led to loneliness. In the paper we present selected results of the study on psychosocial and health consequences of isolation caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic among persons aged 55+. The data will show, how the pandemic has changed the situation of respondents in the area of social activity and social contacts being – to some extent – a factor of social exclusion.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the longevity economy in terms of two critical demographic trends – one is related to the increasing number of older people worldwide, and the other is associated with the lengthening of human life (a.k.a. longevity) driven by advancement in medicine and health care. Both trends have a profound impact on the economy and society. Based upon demographic statistics and other relevant economic data, the paper will bring to the attention selected age-related issues such as labor market and retirement, productivity, consumption, finance, etc. By investigating these issues, busting myths about older persons and their negative impact on the economy along the way, we are considering this cohort of people to be a resource, not a burden to the economy and society, providing that government becomes more proactive in designing policies that are inclusive and supportive of older people. The same holds for the business sector when considering the goods and services provided for older people and by older people. Acknowledging the potential of older people, one can consider longevity beneficial to current and future economic prosperity.
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For more than 15 years, I have been working with different organizations to help them develop their purpose and business based on the positive and negative implications of increased lifespan, which I call the longevity dividend. From what I see worldwide, as the result of a global network of contacts, I understand very clearly the implications of people’s increasing lifespans. I understand that it is essential for countries to have a strategy that goes far beyond the social inclusion of older people and that has a strong economic component and global competitiveness. In this article, written based on my professional experience, I intend to reflect on these implications to promote a broader, practical, and strategic view on the themes of longevity and aging as a way of guaranteeing, as far as possible, social sustainability, and the economic development of countries.
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The paper poses the following research question: Can palladium be part of a stock portfolio to diversify, hedge, reduce risk, or increase return? If so, which of the above can be applied? Since the paper is part of the broader research on various possibilities of retirement investments, the analysis is conducted in the long run. It aims to show that not only gold or silver can be helpful in retirement portfolio management but also less appreciated kinds of precious metals like palladium. Usually, scientific papers are devoted to one of the two most popular metals, i.e., gold or silver, and the authors treat others concisely. The strength of this paper is that palladium is studied in detail and not just as one of many precious metals. As a result, the paper gives a new insight into long-term investments.
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In the paper, statistics on the aging of the EU population are observed first on the total number of inhabitants and then on individual countries that stand out with either the smallest or the most significant percentage of the old population. Data for the EU are given for the period from 2001 to 2020. In conclusion, the situation in Croatia was observed from 1961 onwards, with particular emphasis on the period from 2001 to 2020. Various statistical indicators were considered in the paper, including the share of the older population (over 65 years old) and the very old population (over 80 years old) in the total population. The share of the young population (from 0 to 19 years) and children (from 0 to 14 years) in the total population was also observed. The paper also analyzed the population’s average age, making comparisons across different time periods. The aging index represents the percentage of people aged 60 and over in relation to the number of people aged 0-19. An index greater than 40% indicates that the population of a specific area has entered the aging process. Assumptions were made about the future behavior of the number and structure of the EU and Croatian population and possible consequences thereof.
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The demographic challenge of an aging population is a global and European trend in the Republic of Croatia and numerous other countries of the European Union. The concept of active aging is one of the possible approaches to analyzing and solving the challenges of aging. This paper aims to analyze the demographic structure of the population of the Republic of Croatia in the context of the challenges faced by the older people and the possibilities of active aging in the Republic of Croatia. The ultimate goal of the paper is to offer potential solutions so that older people are as much as possible and often included in the local community where they live and in society in general. Particular emphasis in the paper is placed on the quality of life of older people, in whose insurance the social welfare system and social policy measures play an essential role. Although the motivation for inclusion in the life and work of the local community and a more active approach to older people is based on the older people themselves, the social care system should also enable the implementation of inclusion and satisfaction of an adequate level of the older people’s needs.
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From a macroeconomic pressure perspective, the global demographic trend of aging forces us to think about the management of diet and physical activity under the supervision of physiotherapists as a potential opportunity, considering that healthy aging reflects on the economy and society. Physiological changes accompany aging, and the older population shapes all segments of society. A significant number of diseases are the result of improper diet and lifestyle. A diet that includes a controlled intake of nutrients is recommended for older people. For older people to cope more easily with the changes brought by old age, they are recommended to be physically active and take care of their diet to ensure a healthy perception of life for themselves, the community and society. An interdisciplinary approach and physiotherapy care are significant in working with older people. Practice tells us that older people are the category of society that often uses physiotherapy services. The methodological framework of health promotion and disease prevention helps to affirm those patterns of behavior and activities that are an alternative to the one-sided and sometimes stigmatized attitude toward people over 65. The paper aims to propose behavior patterns for older people related to diet and physical activity guided by physiotherapy processes so that modern society does not look at the old age phenomenon through the lens of diseases and inactivity of this society category.
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Deprescription is a process of reducing the dose and discontinuing a drug that could be harmful to the patient or from which the patient no longer benefits. Due to aging, patients may experience more harm than good from certain medications. Medical characteristics for deprescribing include polypharmacy, multi-morbidity, renal impairment, non-adherence, limited life expectancy, older age, etc. It is necessary to determine the goal of deprescription individually for each patient. The goal may be to simplify the dosing regimen in patients with poor medication adherence. Deprescription should be considered in all patients. First, these are patients with low expected survival, older people, patients with dementia or with numerous comorbidities. Defensive medicine has a risk of unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and irrationally increases the costs of health care. Deprescription is one of the ways we can improve clinical outcomes and the patient’s quality of life.
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The purpose of the article is to present the basic differences in the approach to work and careers of representatives of the baby boomers, and Generations X, Y and Z. The modern approach to careers manifests itself in a shift from linear, stable, predictable and long-term ca- reers to the development of flexible, variable, mosaic careers in many organizations, while the responsibility for career development has shifted from the organization to the employee as the owner of career capital.
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