Tài liệu NEW EUMEMBER STATES AND THE DEPENDENT ELDERLY doc

European Network of Economic Policy

Research Institutes

NEW EU MEMBER STATES AND

THE DEPENDENT ELDERLY

CORINNE METTE

ENEPRI RESEARCH REPORT NO. 19

JULY 2006

ENEPRI Research Reports are designed to make the results of research

undertaken within the framework of the European Network of Economic

Policy Research Institutes (ENEPRI) publicly available. This paper was

prepared when the author was participating in REVISER – a Research

Training Network on Health, Ageing and Retirement – which has received

financing from the European Commission under the 5th Research Framework

Programme (contract no. HPRN-CT-2002-00330). Its findings and

conclusions should be attributed to the author/s and not to ENEPRI or any of

its member institutions.

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© COPYRIGHT 2006, CORINNE METTE

New EU Member States and

the Dependent Elderly

ENEPRI Research Report No. 19/July 2006

Corinne Mette*

Abstract

The 10 new member states that joined the European Union in May 2004 have increased the

population of the EU-15 by 20% and together account for almost 16.4% of the total EU-25

population. The current ageing of the population in the EU-15 has highlighted other challenges

besides the well-known problems of financing pension and health care systems. It has also

highlighted the risks of a rise in the dependent elderly population and the need to adjust social

welfare systems accordingly. Given the emerging risks and problems in the EU-15, one may

wonder about the situation in the new member states. This study shows that while the new

member states do not yet appear to be facing the problem of elderly dependency on the same

scale as the EU-15 countries, in the coming decades it is likely they will have to contend with it

to a much greater degree.

The study also indicates that provision for dependent elderly care in the 10 countries does not

yet seem to be fully established. That being said, Malta and Slovenia, countries that will have a

considerable proportion of the oldest old among their populations in the near future, are

distinguishable from the others in that they appear better prepared in terms of dependent elderly

care. Although Poland is considered far from prosperous as regards economic and social

development, in terms of population ageing – particularly provision for the dependent elderly –

it also looks better placed than most of the other new member states, which appear to be less

generous in assistance provided to the dependent elderly. The three Baltic States are notable in

that the share of GDP they allocate to this category is lowest, even though they are expected to

have the oldest populations in the years to come.

Key words: ageing, dependent elderly, new member states, welfare system

* Corinne Mette is with FEDEA, C/Jorge Juan 46, 28001 Madrid, Tel: +34 91 435 0401; Fax: +34 577

9575; e-mail: [email protected]. The author would like to express her appreciation to Jose Maria Labeaga

and to Simon Sosvilla-Rivero for their valuable advice and to the institutions in the new member states

that have furnished data for this study.