Aging & Social Change: Thirteenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Active ageing has been identified as a useful tool in order to face the multiple challenges linked to population ageing. A fundamental feature of the active ageing concept is multidimensionality, since it encompasses different spheres in which individuals may age actively. To operationalize this concept, researchers frequently make use of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) - i.e. a composite index summarizing different active ageing domains. By making use of ad-hoc Italian regional-level AAI data over the period 2007-2018, we investigate whether, and to what extent, active ageing achievements in Italian regions may be attributable to different active ageing domains. We document that, despite its multidimensional nature, changes in AAI scores in Italy are predominantly driven by changes in the employment domain. When accounting for the educational level, we find that the higher is older people’s educational attainment, the higher is the driving role of the employment domain. Finally, by investigating whether regional diversity may account for changes in the employment domain, we find that regional economic growth predicts increasing employment rates only in the case of older people that are low-educated. These results provide important indications for policy making in this field, by highlighting the need to more extensively promote active ageing in areas different than participation in the labour market, and identifying older people with low educational level as a specific target group within the employment domain.