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Past Event

The Role of Population Policies in Addressing Ageing in the BRICS Countries



About the speaker

Professor Asghar Zaidi

Asghar Zaidi is Professor in International Social Policy at University of Southampton (UK) where his research spans active and healthy ageing and well-being of older people.  Since 2012, he has led the research work in the Active Ageing Index Project of the UNECE/European Commission. During 2013, in collaboration with HelpAge International, he developed the Global AgeWatch Index, the first ever index to measure the well-being of older people on a worldwide scale.  Visiting Professor at London School of Economics and Senior Advisor at European Centre Vienna, Dr. Zaidi was previously Senior Economist at OECD in Paris. He has served as an economic adviser for the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions and as a research officer at the London School of Economics and University of Oxford. An expert advisor to WHO’s Centre for Health Development in Japan, he advised in developing indicators for WHO’s network of Age-friendly Cities. Currently, he is leading a project on dementia in Pakistan (funded by Age International and Alzheimer Disease International) and a project on human rights of older persons (funded by the British Council Islamabad). He is also an academic consultant at Age UK London in their research on constructing the Well-being in Later Life Index. He is on the advisory panel of UNDP’s Human Development Report for 2017.

Abstract

The broader aim of population policy is to bring about a socially inclusive and cohesive society that allows individuals of all ages to realise their potential and enhance their quality of life.  BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have been steadily moving from a state of high mortality and high fertility to a state of low mortality and low fertility and prolonged life expectancy, which collectively lead to a slower population increase in general and a rapid increase in the size of the older population. It is therefore critical to examine what role population policy plays in shaping the demographic transition and addressing its challenges in BRICS countries.

Population ageing is emerging as a common issue for BRICS countries that have close to 40% of world’s older population aged 60 or more. The review of BRICS policy experiences can therefore lead to a common vision for the role of population policy not only for BRICS but also for other countries at similar stages of demographic transition.  It will help coordinate positions of mutual interest and identify directions of future cooperation in population-related issues for BRICS countries.

This presentation will summarise the background work carried out in five country reports produced by population policy experts in BRICS countries. The reports were presented in the 2017 BRICS meeting on ageing, held in Beijing during 7-8 December 2017. 

The presentation will start by highlighting the challenges and opportunities linked with population ageing in these five countries.  It will identify common policy concerns and responses as well as learnings that can be drawn from the experiences in these countries.  It will point to possible future collaboration between these countries in sharing information on the design, implementation and evaluation of policies to help these countries respond to challenges and opportunities of population ageing.


This event is part of a seminar series:

Hilary Term 2018 Seminar Series: Population Ageing in countries that have experienced war, revolution, and economic transition

Hilary Term 2018 Seminar Series Population Ageing in countries that have experienced war, revolution, and economic transition Seminar Room: 66 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PR Convener: Professor Christopher Davis


Event Details

08 March 2018 14:00 - 15:30


Location

Oxford Institute of Population Ageing

66 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6PR