Silver economy: opportunity or threat?

Abstract

Advances in medical care and technology have enabled people to live longer. Societies have moved from concern about uncontrolled population growth to fear of ageing. The difficulties and future challenges of rapid population ageing are on the priority agenda of all countries. In the context of this pessimistic scenario, a new approach to the economic impact of ageing, called silver economics, has emerged in recent years, which has been widely disseminated and promoted by international organisations, but with little scientific reflection. This new perspective considers the ageing of societies as an opportunity to generate economic growth, contradicting the extensive academic literature that associates it with negative impacts on the economy. The aim of this article is to unveil the assumptions and challenges behind the definitions of the silver economy formulated by international organisations.