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An Ounce of Prevention
As a researcher who studies ageing, I spend a great deal of time thinking about, discussing, and researching prevention. As a father to a one-year-old and a three-year-old, and as the son of parent...
Sub-Saharan Africa – The Sleeping Giant
In terms of global population ageing[1], it is not unfair to suggest that Africa has been a sleeping giant. The early decades of the 21st century saw most global populations continue to age as m...
Everything Flows — and the Question We Often Forget to Ask
Heraclitus said that everything flows and nothing stands still. The world in 2026 makes it feel like an understatement. A technology war between the United States and China, two active armed confli...
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Why Time Spent in Care Matters
A population-level perspective on duration and care dynamics Imagine two people, both aged 75, both living in a residential care home. On paper, they look identical to a population model: same a...
Ageing Societies and the Future of Productivity
Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in a field that was once unfamiliar to me: productivity. Initially, it seemed almost too “economically driven” for ...
AI Inclusion: A New Challenge for Ageing Societies
Over the past decade, the growing use of digital technologies among older adults has attracted increasing attention from researchers, policymakers, and organisations working in the field of ageing....
Designing your retirement
Just in case you missed it, I feel it is my public duty to draw your attention to the news that a seven-minute film from Ireland, Retirement Plan, has been nominated for an Oscar this spring in the...
The Ageing of the Successful Ageing Model
One of the fascinating aspects of studying the process of ageing is that the theories of ageing are themselves ageing. This year marks ten years since I arrived at the Oxford Institute of Populatio...
Population Ageing and the “Replacement” Debate
In yesterdays’ opinion piece in The Guardian (February 10th), Guardian columnist Zoe Williams discusses the letter from the French Health Ministry to all 29 year old men and women reminding t...
Demographic Resilience and Strategic Reform: Addressing Inequality in Oxfordshire’s Ageing Population
At the Institute of Population Ageing, we monitor how demographic shifts impact real lives—a reality reflected in Age UK Oxfordshire’s recently launched 2030 strategy, "Stronger To...
Taiwan’s Next Chapter: Aligning Economic Achievement with Eudaimonia
Taiwan is celebrated worldwide as a hub of technological innovation. Semiconductor giants, electronics manufacturers, and advanced supply chains make it a model of industrial efficiency and resilie...
It's Frailty not Old Age ……
Let me tell you the story of Joe[1]. Joe is a 73-year-old man with heart failure who went to his Dr with a mild respiratory infection. She prescribed penicillin. Four days later Joe was rushed by a...
Four ways to think about the future
Researchers routinely invest enormous amounts of time and effort in trying to figure out the future of products and services for the societies of tomorrow. Whether they’re engaged in scenario...
Beyond “Blue Monday”: The Real Science Behind Winter Wellbeing
I was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, where winter isn't just cold; it's dark. It's really dark. At 60.7 degrees north, daylight fades quickly. By December, the sun barely rises before it si...
Walking With My Grandmother: What Older Adults Have Taught Me
I grew up with my Italian grandmother. When I think of my childhood, the most vivid memories are of walking with her to small grocery stores, stopping to listen to her conversations with the owners...