Dušana Findeisen, Slovenian Third Age Universit, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Upon the initiative of a retired professor of economics, currently a student of Slovenian U3A, was held at this university a symposium on silver economy. Devoted to network thinking about a topic which is seemingly new, the symposium was attended by participants from diverse backgrounds.
Silver economy is both a new and old topic in the focus of Slovenian Third Age University. Why? Due to ageing society, silver market is predicted to amount up to 5% of the GDP by 2060, so one should better understand what silver economy is all about.
Towards a definition of silver economy
Taking into account their purchasing power and their number (in 2050, in OECD countries their share is expected to be 25 % of the population), older people constitute a potentially important market. Moreover, there is a chance that in the future, silver market becomes one of the most important markets. There will be many investment possibilities for innovating companies and many other companies active in various areas. Far from being a separated sector, silver economy encompasses a number of activities transversally reaching out to the whole production and consumption sector. It is oriented towards both production and distribution of goods and services, meeting the needs of older people. In addition to this, it is about preparing younger generations and their future well being1
To get aware of the orientation of the emerging silver economy one does not need to go further than the French Contract on Silver Economy agreed on December the 12th 2013 It says: “Silver economy is about commodities and services that can be conceived in sectors like: accommodation, communication, transport, e-autonomy, safety, health, individual services, distribution (adaptation of packaging etc.), leisure time, work (teleworking), tourism. What about other sectors?
French government defined silver economy as commercial and manufacturing activities of benefit to older people, ameliorating their social participation, improving the quality of their life and well-being, slowing down the loss of autonomy and increasing life expectancy.
The participants in the symposium, older and middle aged experts and U3A’s students contributed their statements
When one observes how silver economy is getting shaped, not surprisingly, one gets aware of persisting stereotypes about older people and their abilities. These are the same stereotypes that can be encountered in the majority of local, national and international policies. Older people need to be protected and pampered. Their needs are determined by other generations. To illustrate this point, the National cultural strategy of RS defines older people exclusively as consumers of culture, while older people are typically its interpreters and producers2.
In any economy, be it silver or not, anyone is both a consumer and a producer. Thus, older people should be producers of silver economy not exclusively its end users.
Moreover, being an innovative economy, silver economy requires a more even distribution of talents at the core of its innovative processes. If in the future older people are not among innovators, silver economy will have a serious problem in the ageing society.
Older people are said to be left behind as concerns technological development though rapid technological change creates obsolescence of knowledge and skills among all age groups. Today, the need for retraining is shared by people in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, and beyond if they choose to go on working at the workplace” (Sterns 1986 – quoted in Sterns & Doverspike, 1988, 98)
Urgently needed legal, cultural and symbolic fairness
In their own way anyone can participate in economic and social development.
Silver economy in the first place means that when not encouraged to go on working after retirement, older people at least should not be legally discouraged to work. In Slovenia, retired craftsmen for instance loose 25% of their pension if they continue working after retirement, a penalty which does not affect intelectuals with specific knowledge. From the legal point of view the situation is not equal and should be altered.
Next, the discrimination by age affects young an older people.The young are »overschooled« docile, ready to follow instructions but not ready to think independently and take decisions on their own. They are discarded from the labour market due to their lack of experience, whereas older workers do have experience, but are discarded as well (Krajnc, 2016 Symposium on Silver Economy).
In Slovenia 49% of respondents in a European study think positively about older people at work, the average of other countries being 61%.On the other hand it has been proven that small and medium sized companies employing a greater number of older people are more flexible than those with less older wokers. This suggests that the workplace experience gained throughout the whole of one’s working life can play a key role in the development of adaptability and flexibility in late career. The adaptive competences of older workers are impacted greatly by experiential learning through various roles. This also suggests that older people can be important producers in silver economy.
Young and older people have always worked together, which s a historical fact. Now this type of working community is not natural anymore. The retirement of older people can only exceptionally provide jobs for younger generations, since employment is not a function of the labour market, on the contrary, it is a function of economy. Growing economy provides jobs.
”Life-long learning and education are necessary, so that one can continue building on previous knowledge and experience.” and can be involved in life-long work.
Conclusion
It is not surprising that older people, are like other adults; they are consumers, preferably active consumers , and they are producers! They bring into economy their academic knowledge, their know-how and knowledge about relationships, their experiential knowledge gained by playing an array of roles at workplace.
They are related to their family members and provide for their needs. Through organisations they belong to, they maintain and enlarge their social network (which impacts their production and consumption).
Active older people, older people that are employed or work as volunteers, surrounded older people develop new interests and have new needs mostly in the field of culture, knowledge, transport, ICT technology, health, socializing etc. They have abilities and primary and higher psycho-social needs that have to be met and thought of in silver economy! Older people, like the rest of us, have to adapt to major social changes and they have abilities and needs associated with them.
Silver economy should be conceived for and with older people having diversified needs and abilities. It should take into account contemporary older people’s social roles but also their future social roles.
References
Høgskolebygget på Stord Høgskolebygget i Haugesund
Henseke, G. & Tivig, T. 2007. Demographic change and industry-specific innovation patterns in Germany. Thuenen-
Sonnenfeld, J. (1988) Continued work contributions in late career. In H. Dennis (Ed.), Fourteen steps in managing an ageing workforce. Toronto: Lexington Books, 191-214.
Sterns, H. L. & Doverspike, D. (1988) Training and developing the older worker: Implications for human resource management. In H. Dennis (Ed.), Fourteen steps in managing an ageing workf orce. Toronto: Lexington Books, 97-112.
International Views. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 249-266.
Tikkanen, T. (2011) From managing a problem to capitalizing on talent and experience of older workers: Editorial.
The International Journal of Human Resources Management (IJHRM). Special issue on changing workforce demographic and ageing workers. Quest Editor. Apr2011, Vol. 22 Issue 6, p1217-1220.
More: http://eregion.eu/8-6-2016-silver-economy-development-meeting-ljubljana/
At the conference on Silver economy key messages were summarized into a Memorandum to be distributed. You are kinldy ask to do it.
Memorandum on Silver eEconomy Development
Cross-border eCollaboration in the eRegions & Slovenian Third Age University
http://eregion.eu/8-6-2016-silver-economy-development-meeting-ljubljana
Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 8, 2016
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Silver economy requires a vision of old age on which strategies are based. It has to be defined and addressed holistically, attracting an array of stakeholders and not only older people. Silver economy will account for 5% of GDP by 2060 and there is every chance that silver market becomes one of the globally most important markets in the ageing society. Boosted by technological advances, silver economy will be meeting older people’s needs, reaching out to all sectors of production, distribution and consumption of commodities and services.
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Older people represent an under used resource for society and silver economy. On condition they continue learning they can contribute to the learning of younger generations, they can learn from younger people, thus providing a cost-effective “virtuous circle”. They can also play a major role providing learning opportunities for other older people. Structures like third age universities already enable these activities. When not discouraged by culture, ageism or legislation, older people can perform paid and voluntary work. Structures for transferring knowledge and skills and structures for transferring craftsmen’s knowledge and skills onto children and young people should be created and supported by existing organisations (companies, libraries, third age universities, associations etc.). To this purpose a network of real craftsmen and real workshops, real equipment is to be set up.
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Silver economy is connected with active ageing and active ageing demands close co-operation of generations. Silver economy should take into account an array of older people’s needs, not only deficiency needs (loss of mobility, vision, hearing etc.) but also growth needs, higher psychosocial needs as well as their abilities. It focuses on normal and not only on pathological ageing. Technology on which silver economy is based can meet different needs.
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Older people will be consumers and producers of technology, commodities and services in silver economy. Being an innovative economy in sectors of accommodation, health, insurance, wellness, assistive technology etc. silver economy will be based on innovations of innovators who in the ageing society should be of all ages. It will be further based on abilities and lifelong experience of older people in different social roles at work and elsewhere.
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Silver economy requires equal access to technology, training and education, regardless of age. Learning of older people has a critical role to play in the achievement of a wide range of social and economic objectives, including extending and improving working life, reducing dependency costs and improving health and well being as well as participating in silver economy. Governments should therefore write into their policies a broader vision of lifelong learning, which is inclusive of people beyond working age and encourages flexible forms of non-formal learning offered by various providers. The national government and EU should support lifelong learning which is truly lifelong.
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Silver economy will struggle against age discrimination that concerns both young people (who are over school and do not have enough experience) and older people who do have experience but are squeezed out of the labour market nevertheless. It requires urgently changes of legislation that is currently preventing older people from adopting flexible forms of work. Different bonuses (20% of the future pension paid out) exist for those who continue working till the age of 65, but not beyond. Those who remain in employment beyond the statutory retirement age should all have this possibility till they get retired.
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All older people have the right to be consulted and engaged regarding their learning, work and other forms of participating in silver economy. Often they know best what they need or can contribute. If silver economy is to meet the needs of older people intermediary adult learning institutions, health and social care institutions, technological solutions, NGO’s , chambers of commerce and crafts, offering support to self organised activities, production and consumption in ageing society and silver economy are needed. Moreover, in silver economy, in an ageing and shrinking labour market, making better use of older workers is a matter of competitiveness, not charity and labour legislation is to be adapted to social and economic developments regulating flexible work, telework, part time work after retirement. Present legislation is putting too much pressure on the generations in the middle who are supposed to take care of the age dependent groups.
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Non-constitutional inequality of retirees is to be abolished, especially that of craftsmen’s who loose 25 % of their pension if they continue working after retirement which is currently not the case of those who work on the basis of authorship contracts.
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Unemployment of the 50+ mostly becomes permanent resulting in a loss of productivity and experience to the economy, a cost to the state and a risk to the mental health of individuals and their families.
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Networking of all kinds is physical or virtual, networks of individuals, organisations, companies, municipalities and countries will be at the core of silver economy. The issue of ageing should be a part of the e-cooperation of municipalities without borders.
The Meeting’s Participants List is published at http://eregion.eu/8-6-2016-silver-economy-development-meeting-ljubljana
http://eregion.eu/8-6-2016-silver-economy-development-meeting-ljubljana/