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INTRODUCTION
Theagingofthepopulationisalsomoreexplicitlyreferredtointheliterature
asan“agingcrisis”.Asaresultoftheselong-termdemographictrendsthe
ratiobetweentheabundanceofpeopleofworkingandofpost-productionage
ischanging.
Thissocialprocessisaresultoflong-termdemographictrends,mostofwhich
canberegardedastheeffectofcivilizationprogress(betterhealthcare,reduced
infantmortality,improvedworkingconditions,morerationalandhygieniclife-
style,etc.).Thesepositivetrendsinpopulationgrowthincludeadecreaseinmor-
talityrateandlongerlifeexpectancy,andinmostcountriespeoplearenowliving
longerthaninthepastandinthefuturetheywillliveevenlonger,whichisobvi-
ouslyagoodthing.
TheagingofthepopulationobservedinalltheEuropeanUnioncountriesas
wellasthecountrieslocatedonothercontinents(includingtheUS,JapanorAus-
tralia)hasexertedanincreasingpressureonfinancingandsocialsecurity–espe-
ciallywithregardtopensionsystemsandhealthcare.Ithasalsoaffectedthelabor
marketandthechangesinworkconditionsassociatedwiththeneedfortheelderly
toadapttotheneedsandpossibilitiesofbecomingmoreeconomicallyactive.
Thiscreatesahugechallengeandincreasesdemographicriskforsocialsecurity
systems,aswellastheriskofbreachingthelong-termfinancialsustainability
ofthesesystems.Inthefuturemorepeoplewillliveuptoanoldage,hencethe
increasingimportanceoflong-termcaresystemsfortheelderly.Onlysomecoun-
tries(e.g.Germany)havealreadyintroducedthelong-termcareinsuranceforsen-
iors.Inothercountriessuchsystemsolutionsdonotexist.
Howtomeetsuchchallenges?Dothepensionandhealthcaresystemreforms
introducedindifferentcountriesattheturnofthetwentiethandthetwenty-first
centuriessufficientlytakeintoaccounttheconsequencesofdemographicaging?
Inthisrespect,whatshouldbetheroleofthestateandhowhelpfulmaybethe
financialinstitutionsofferingtheinstrumentsforfinancingadditionalretirement
orhealthinsurance?InwhichdirectionistheEuropeansocialmodelevolving?
Howtoadaptworkingconditionstotheneedsoftheelderly?
Thesearejustsomequestionsthatareaddressedbytheauthorsinthismono-
graph,consideringeconomic,socialandtechnologicalproblemsassociatedwith
demographicagingofthepopulationfromdifferentpointsofview(thescienceof
socialpolicy,finance,culture,andergonomics).Thisinterdisciplinaryapproach
isjustifiedbecauseofthemultifacetedandcomplexnatureoftheproblems.