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The aim of the study is to demonstrate evidence that societal ageing and poor economic growth are linked in the advanced economies. It challenges the claim however that secular stagnation represents a serious problem for future prosperity.

This paper critically reviews recent formulations of the secular stagnation hypothesis concerning stalled economic growth in the advanced economies and the links between demographic ageing and economic slowdown. It outlines both trends (of ageing and stalled growth) and reviews some of the key empirical studies that have sought to determine the role played by demographic change in accounting for the relative lack of growth in the advanced economies.

The advanced economies are ageing and their economic growth is slowing, although a causal link between these two phenomena remains unproven. However, even if no direct causal link can be drawn between these two processes the focus upon the impact of societal ageing serves as a stimulus to re-think the nature of future growth in our increasingly ageing and unequal societies.

While the measurement of demographic trends is relatively straightforward, there are more problems in specifying the exact parameters of macroeconomic growth. This makes empirical studies in the area difficult to interpret. However studies in this area have value in widening thinking about the role of ageing and the nature of growth in the future.

Rather than fearing the prospect of an age related slowdown in the rate of growth in the advanced economies, these developments offer opportunities to focus upon redistribution more than growth, while supporting a programme of growth with equity in the world's developing economies.

While a demographically over-determined model of the secular stagnation hypothesis is dubious, the future ageing of the advanced economies is certainly a challenge. It is also an opportunity for rethinking ideas about ageing, growth and development. Adopting such a more nuanced perspective offers a counter-narrative to the demographic catastrophising that is often evident when discussing 'societal ageing'. It also suggests the value of shifting the perspective of seeking ever increasing growth toward a greater focus upon redistribution, between and within the generations.

There has been very little engagement with the secular stagnation hypothesis outside economics. Behind its macroeconomic formulation, however, lie assumptions about the ageing of society that can easily become examples of unwarranted demographic catastrophising. By bringing this topic to the attention of the social sciences, the paper can serve as a stimulus for rethinking both ageing and growth.

This study aims to explore whether trends in the pattern of income inequality over the past 40 years apply equally to working and retirement age households in the UK, and if so, why this might be so.

Drawing on data from the Office of National Statistics, various indices of income inequality have been calculated among retired and working-age households for the period 1977–2017.

Despite a broadly similar trend towards increasing inequality during the 1980s and into the 1990s among both types of household, income inequality among UK retired households has always remained below than that of working-age households. For retired and working-age households alike, the fortunes of those in the upper half of the income distribution have seen themselves do better. Despite the temporal contiguity, different explanations for both sets of inequalities seem to be required, and likely different strategies needed to ameliorate their more negative effects.

Few studies have conducted comparisons of inequality between retirement and working-age households over four decades in any country. The present study's long view suggests that factors creating inequality in the upper half of the income distribution may differ in both their cause and impact, compared with inequalities in the lower half. Arguably, the greatest need is to improve access to benefits for those retired householders at the bottom of the income distribution.

To better understand the social nature of dementia, it is important to understand its cultural significance and the role that it plays in re-articulating later life. In this new terrain of ageing it may be worth exploring how the idea of the fourth age can help us better understand the nature of dementia and the way in which its cultural role affects both social and health policies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Gilleard and Higgs (2010) argue that the fourth age now serves as a “cultural imaginary” of the deepest and darkest aspects of old age and that dementia figures prominently in fashioning it.

The scope for exploring dementia as a component of the cultural imaginary of the fourth age has already been demonstrated through the small but growing number of studies that have explored the fear of dementia.

An avenue for further exploration is the distinction between a fear of losing one's mind (as in the pre-modern meaning of dementia) and the fear of losing one's place (as in the loss of status associated with dependency). Arguably the former exercises a greater influence than the latter, and raises the question of distinguishing between narratives and practices that sustain the mind of the person with dementia and those that sustain the position of the person with dementia as fellow citizen or fellow countryman or woman.

This paper describes a survey of mental health and well‐being in the adult population served by Wandsworth Primary Care Trust. The survey was designed as a pilot to obtain benchmark data on public mental health. The findings support the argument that absence of mental ill health does not equate with mental health. More than 12% of the sample were found to have symptoms of mental illness yet reported good mental health, while just over 10% had no symptoms but reported poor mental health. Looking at predictors, the most vulnerable to mental ill health were younger, divorced or separated adults who were unemployed and had a long‐term illness or disability. Older couples in good health were among those least likely to have mental health problems. The authors conclude that more sensitive and reliable public mental health indicators are needed to demonstrate clear evidence of improved mental health and to inform future work to improve the mental health and well‐being of the local population.

In light of the fact that the “baby boomer” generation is moving into early old age, the purpose of this paper is to examine what aspects of ageing and old age concerned an age cohort of 25 gay men aged 60 plus.

The primary data for this paper came from interviews with 25 men aged 60 and older who were recruited in Auckland, London, Manchester, Melbourne, and New York. Interviewees were contacted by a variety of means, such as by e-mail introductions, advertisements placed on social media, and recommendations of mutual friends or acquaintances. Once contacted, the men were sent a plain-language statement outlining the purpose of the study and the intention to publish the results and were asked to sign and return a consent form. Narrative identity was central to understandings of the men’s lives got from analysing their interview transcripts.

Analysis of extracts from their life stories showed the men interviewed for this paper drew on two principal narratives when discussing their apprehensions about growing old. The first related to general fears or concerns about old age that would be fairly common among members of the general population. The second narrative related to gay-specific fears or concerns. Significant claims: that class affects gay men’s experience of old age just as it does for everyone else; and that fears of being ostracised because of their sexuality were strongest when the men spoke about aged-accommodation settings.

More research is needed on gay men’s experience of in-home supported care and residential care to see if the reality of the heterosexism and/or homophobia matches the fears of some in this sample.

This is a relatively new field and there is a growing number of researchers examining the ageing concerns and experiences of the GLBT population. The originality of this paper lies in the international sample on which it is based, its use of narrative analysis, and its relevance to policy makers as well as to members of the GLBT population, carers, and owners/managers of aged-care accommodation facilities.

Social networks are seen to influence the use of health and social care services. In a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of befriending of carers of people with dementia, we studied the relationship between network type and support from family/ friends, voluntary sector befriending and residential/nursing care. Using Wenger's typology of social networks, findings suggest that the pattern of support use varies by differences in the structure of networks. It is recommended that questions on social networks should be widely incorporated into carers' assessments to help identify need for social support interventions and to enable the sensitive selection of appropriate types of carer support to be provided.

The ‘baby‐boom’ generation has emerged as a significant group in debates focusing on population change. The demographic context concerns the increase in the birth rate across industrialised countries from the mid‐1940s through to the mid‐1960s. From a sociological perspective, boomers have been viewed as a group with distinctive experiences that set them apart from previous generations. In the UK context, however, there have been relatively few detailed studies of the characteristics of the boomer generation and, in particular, that of first‐wave boomers (born between 1945 and 1954) now entering retirement. This article draws on a research project exploring changes in consumption and identity affecting this cohort. The paper reviews some of the key social and demographic changes affecting this group, highlighting a mixture of continuities and discontinuities over previous cohorts. The article concludes with an assessment of the value of sociological research for furthering understanding of the baby‐boomer generation.

This paper provides a critical assessment of academic and policy approaches to population ageing with an emphasis on the baby boomer cohort and constructions of late‐life identity. It is suggested that policy towards an ageing population has shifted in focus, away from particular social hazards and towards an attempt to re‐engineer the meaning of legitimate ageing and social participation in later life. Three themes are identified: constructing the baby boomers as a force for social change, a downward drift of the age associated with ‘older people’ and a shift away from defining ageing identities through consumption, back towards work and production. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for future social and public policy.

This purpose of this study is to examine the fluidity of family life which continues to attract attention. This is increasingly significant for the intergenerational relationship between adult children and their elderly parents. Using practice theory, the aims are to understand the role of food in elderly families and explore how family practices are maintained when elderly transition into care.

A phenomenological research approach was used as the authors sought to build an understanding of the social interactions between family and their lifeworld.

This study extends theory on the relationship between the elderly parent and their family and explores through practice theory how families performed their love, how altered routines and long standing rituals provided structure to the elderly relatives and how care practices were negotiated as the elderly relatives transitioned from independence to dependence and towards care. A theoretical framework is introduced that provides guidance for the transition stages and the areas for negotiation.

This research has implications for food manufacturers and marketers, as the demand for healthy food for the elderly is made more widely available, healthy and easy to prepare. The limitations of the research are due to the sample located in East Yorkshire only.

This research has implications for brand managers of food manufacturers and supermarkets that need to create product lines that target this segment by producing healthy, convenience food.

It is also important for health and social care policy as the authors seek to understand the role of food, family and community and how policy can be devised to provide stability in this transitional and uncertain lifestage.

This research extends the body of literature on food and the family by focussing on the elderly cared for and their family. The authors show how food can be construed as loving care, and using practice theory, a theoretical framework is developed that can explain the transitions and how the family negotiates the stages from independence to dependence.

The research takes a comprehensive evaluation of hospitality students’ perceptions towards small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) employment and explores whether the current recession and labour market changes influence hospitality students career-related decisions. Such exploration would provide vital information as to how the new economic environment has modified the nature and context of hospitality students perceptions towards SMEs. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The research focuses on a constructionist philosophy in order to interpret how hospitality students construct of career choice. The qualitative methodology adopts semi-structured interviews in order to explore the socially constructed views of hospitality students’ perception of SMEs employment.

In spite of recessional challenges which particularly affect the graduate labour market, the research confirms the original academic arguments that socially constructed barriers and influencing factors do not highlight SMEs as an attractive first employment destination.

This research recognises the need to reconsider the curriculum for hospitality students to embed the notion of SMEs as a possible career choice.

Socially SMEs have not either historically or in the present day been seen as providing adequate resources for graduates entering the world of work. Such an implication has a considerably impact upon the supply and demand side of SMEs graduate labour market.

The economic downturn now poses a real challenge for new graduates as it is difficult to predict and discuss future labour market issues and trends. The research allows key stakeholders in graduate employment to understand the effects of the economic environment to graduate SMEs perceptions and take measures in improving SMEs-graduate employment in hospitality.