ABSTRACT
As Chapter 1 of this book shows, Europe is facing a wide range of demographic changes which will affect individuals, communities and nations. The shift towards delaying or abandoning marriage, choosing one or no children and living longer all point towards population decline and possible labour shortages in the future. They also raise the issue of dependency aside from the traditional association with child dependants, including a broader mix of children, elderly, incapacitated and disabled dependants. Of major policy concern is that these trends point to a contraction of the financial and physical base which is needed to support dependent groups. However, counter-forces also operate-the increasing labour participation rates of women (which in some Nordic countries are close to those held by men), the desire for a more flexible retirement age to take account of new generations of ‘young’ elderly, hence active, people and new waves of migrant workers who, in past decades, met the labour shortages in western Europe.
