Asghar Zaidi

1. Measuring Active and Healthy Ageing
Learning from the Active Ageing Index for the EU
By Asghar Zaidi
University of Southampton
London School of Economics
Active Ageing Summit, Ankara, 3rd March 2016

2. Outline
1. Elaborating positive approaches to ageing
1.1 Challenges, solutions and outcomes
1.2 Active and healthy ageing as a policy approach
2. Example of the EU’s Active Ageing Index “AAI”
2.1 Introducing the UNECE/ EC Active Ageing Index project
2.2 Key findings of the latest AAI Analytical Report
3. Conclusions
3.1 Strengths and limitations of the EU’s AAI
3.2 Concluding remarks

3. The Context is well known
Population ageing is happening all across the world
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision,
Graphs prepared for the 2015 Insight Report of the Global Age Watch Index, HelpAge International (2015)

4. 1
Positive approaches to ageing

5. 1.1 The Context: Challenges, Solutions and Outcomes
Source: Zaidi, A. (2015) ) “Population ageing and financial and social sustainability challenges of
pension income systems in Europe: A cross-national perspective” in: Bovenberg et al (eds.) The
Future of Multi-pillar Pensions, Cambridge University Press.

6. 1. If population ageing is to become a positive experience, then the
increase in life expectancy must be accompanied by active and
healthy years added to life.
2. The underlying idea is that active, healthy and engaged people
contribute to their own health, wellbeing and autonomy as well as
to the welfare of the society in which they live.
3. This approach rejects the notion that older people are passive and
dependent; instead it recognise equality of opportunity and
potential of older people.
4. Active and healthy ageing includes paid work as well as unpaid
activities, and also independent living and self-reliance. These
aspects are influenced not onlyby policies and programmes of the
governments and also by our own behaviour (e.g. healthy living).
1.2 Active and healthy ageing as a policy approach
Source: Drawn from the analysis included in Zaidi et al. (2016)

7. Emphasis on active ageing at the European level
I. Designation of 2012 as the European Year for Active Ageing and
Solidarity between Generations
http://ec.europa.eu/archives/ey2012/
II. European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing
(EIP-AHA) – also setting out the target to increase the average
healthy lifespan of Europeans by 2 years by 2020
http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-
union/index_en.cfm?section=active-healthy-ageing
III. Vienna Ministerial Declaration for the 2nd 5-year review of MIPAA):
‘Ensuring a society for all ages: Promoting quality of life and active
ageing’ (September 2012)
www.unece.org/pau/ageing/ministerial_conference_2012.html
Source: Drawn from the analysis included in Zaidi et al. (2013)
*MIPAA: Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing
http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/Madrid_plan.pdf

8. 8
The WHO’s concept of Active Ageing
• WHO defined active ageing as “the process of
optimizing opportunities for health, participation and
security in order to enhance quality of life as people
age” (WHO, 2002, p. 12)
• “Active” was defined as participation in social,
economic, cultural, spiritual and civic affairs, not just
physically active or to participate in the labour force”
• The WHO’s active ageing concept formed the basis of
many national and international strategies (e.g. MIPAA,
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing)

9. 2
Example of the EU’s Active Ageing Index
“AAI”

10. “When you cannot
express it in numbers,
your knowledge is of a
meagre and
unsatisfactory kind”
Building knowledge using numbers
Lord Kelvin in 1883
Mathematician, physicist and
engineer, 1824-1907

11. 11
Objectives of the AAI project 2012-15
Launched during the European Year 2012
I. To produce high-quality, independent, multi-
perspective evidence on active & healthy ageing;
II. To highlight the contributions of older people in
different dimensions of their lives; and identify
the potential of older people that goes untapped;
III. To offer policy makers comparative evidence
while encouraging them to use it in developing
strategies for promoting active and healthy
ageing.

12. The AAI framework
22 indicators, 4 domains, for men/women
Source: For a discussion on the choice of indicators includes, see Zaidi et al. (2013 & 2016)

13. 13
Prime pan-European datasets used
Indicators drawn from the micro datasets of
 EU Labour Force Survey, 2008, 2010 and 2012
 European Quality of Life Survey, 2007/8 and 2012/13
 EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions, 2008,2010,2012
 European Social Survey, mainly wave, mainly R4, R5 and R6
Also macro indicators, ‘RLE at 55’ and ‘HLE at 55’, from:
Joint Action: European Health & Life Expectancy Information
system, 2008, 2010 and 2012

14. 14
AAI for Turkey (under construction)
• Collaborations with Ministry of Family and
Social Policy and the Turkish Statistical Institute
• 19 indicators calculated using the same data
points as for the EU28 (year 2012);
• 2 indicators are also available but for an earlier
year (for 2008)
• 1 indicator, healthy life expectancy, currently
drawn from the Global AgeWatch Index

15. Key findings for 28 EU
countries
Drawn from
The AAI Analytical Report
Published in April 2015

16. The latest AAI report
released during the
AAI International
Seminar, 16-17 April,
2015
Data years covered:
2008
2010
2012

17. 17
Active Ageing Index
Acknowledgements
The work presented here was undertaken within the
framework of the joint management project of the UNECE
and the European Commission’s DG EMPL. The
research work for the Active Ageing Index is currently
undertaken at University of Southampton, with the help of
advice received from the AAI Expert Group.
The material presented and its interpretation do not imply
the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of
the funders.

18. Key message 1: Affluent EU States in the Northern and
Western Europe have had greater overall success
Also, stability
observed in the
relative position of
EU countries over
the period 2008-
2012
Source: UNECE/ European Commission (2015), pp. 18

19. Key message 2: A fuller realisation of active ageing remains
an aspiration (even in the most developed welfare states of the EU)
70% 66% 48% 90% 84%
Source: UNECE/ European Commission (2015), pp. 21

20. An anatomy of AAI results for Poland
50% 41% 32% 74% 62%

21. Key message 3:
AAI scores for
men are higher
than women,
especially where
employment
and incomes
are involved
Source: UNECE/ European
Commission (2015), pp. 31

22. Key message 4:
Active ageing has
been increasing in
the EU, despite
economic crisis and
austerity measures
On average, an increase
of nearly 2 points in the
EU, while an increase of
nearly 3 points or more
in nine EU countries
(during 2008-2012).
Source: UNECE/ European
Commission (2015), pp. 33

23. Key message 5:
A push towards
active ageing does
not imply a
worsening of older
people’s quality of
life, and it brings
real benefits to the
economy.
No cause-and-effect
direction implied!
Source: UNECE/ European
Commission (2015), pp. 26-27

24. 24
3
Conclusions

25. 1. The AAI framework identifies specific priorities for
each country regarding where the potential of older
people is not realised, and by how much?
2. The AAI framework (with further research) points to
successful / innovative policy instruments to promote
active and healthy ageing.
3. The AAI evidence is only as good as the underlying
data and its comparability – ‘If better is possible good
is not enough’;
4. Comparative research must also capture diversity of
contexts across countries; and different visions and
goals with respect to active and healthy ageing.
Strengths of the AAI
Limitations

26. …. the active ageing approach outlined focus on human
capital of older people, by promoting positive paradigms of
ageing (rather then viewing older people as dependents)
Concluding remarks!
…. Generating critical knowledge for ageing and
development; in the environment of post-2015 sustainable
development agenda
The AAI evidence shows that a fuller realisation of AA remains
an aspiration, even in the most developed welfare states of the
Europe

27. Thank you
email: Asghar.Zaidi@soton.ac.uk
The AAI work reported here is undertaken within the
framework of the joint management AAI project of the
UNECE and the European Commission’s DG EMPL. The
research work for the AAI is undertaken at University of
Southampton with the help of advice received from the AAI
Expert Group. The material does not imply the expression
of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the funders.

28. 28
Key AAI references
Zaidi, A, K. Gasior, E. Zolyomi, A. Schmidt, R. Rodrigues and B. Marin (2016)
“Measuring active and healthy ageing in Europe”, Forthcoming in
Journal of European Social Policy.
UNECE/ European Commission (2015) “Active Ageing Index 2014: Analytical
Report”, Report prepared by Asghar Zaidi and David Stanton, under
contract with UNECE and the European Commission’s Directorate
General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (Brussels).
Zaidi, Asghar (2015) “Creating and Using the Evidence Base: The Case of
the Active Ageing Index.” Contemporary Social Science 10(2): 148–59
Zaidi, A., Gasior, K., Hofmarcher, M.M., Lelkes, O., Marin, B., Rodrigues, R.,
Schmidt, A., Vanhuysse, P. and Zolyomi, E., (2013) Active Ageing Index.
Concept, Methodology, and Final Results. Research Memorandum/
Methodology Report, European Centre Vienna, March 2013. Available
at: www.euro.centre.org/data/ aai/1253897823_70974.pdf