Economics of ageing: research area and perspectives

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the latest findings on the economic potential of ageing and compare them primarily from a consumables perspective. The relevant question relating to this research was: What are the economic consequences of the demographic development in relation to consumer demand for products and services in old age?

Design/methodology/approach

Narrative systematic publications were thoroughly reviewed and collated. A systematic search was carried out in journals, books, databases, the internet as well as within the scientific community from November 2012 to May 2013.

Findings

A total of 115 relevant scientific publications were identified in this review (from 1964 to 2013). In order to gain an actual overview of the relevant literature, the results show the most recent publications from 2000 to 2013.

Research limitations/implications

There are three limitations within this paper: First, the search process used only four databases. Second, this review only took into account publications in English and German. Therefore, the review may fail to encompass all published literature. Finally, this study did not endeavour to evaluate the methodological quality of each scientific publication. Study findings were taken as reported.

Originality/value

This paper aims at analysing the economic potentials of ageing primarily from the perspective of consumption. The focus of this economics of ageing investigation is on the “demography-related” consequences in terms of the demand behaviour of the older consumers (the elderly as potential buyers). The paper deals with all the “silver economy” as a cross-sector campaign and research area for economics of ageing – a still fairly young discipline, both in science and in practical applications.

Citation

Meiners, N. (2014), "Economics of ageing: research area and perspectives", Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 63-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAOA-07-2013-0020