Workshop B: Aging, shrinking regions and access to services Moderator: Simin Davoudi Chair: Michaela Gensheimer Reporter: Didier Michal ESPON Seminar Evora, 11-13 Nov. 2007

Key Socio-economic challenges Shrinking workforce (11) shortage of skilled labour both high and low skilled labour is needed Productivity ≠ immigration Shrinking does not necessarily means decline in the long run why do regions are attracting high or low skilled labour? Late entry to and early exit from the labour market (2) Squeeze of workforce particularly among higher socio-economic groups Rising dependency ratio (1) longer working hours, higher taxes Late entry to (higher education) and early exist (early retirement) from the labour market

Key socio-economic challenges Growing number of older people (0) raising the cost of health care and pension The ‘Ageing Europe’ (5) putting pressure on the European social model and welfare provision ‘Grey’ voting power (2) shifting public spending away from nurseries and schools to health care and retirement homes, blocking reform to retirement age and pension schemes

Key socio-economic challenges Social differentiation among older people (2) poverty and isolation among some who mainly live in urban areas using distance care packages versus luxury life among others living in large houses with ‘carer quarters’, in retirement destinations Immigration (6) both internal and external immigration (statistics not very performing) response to demographic restructuring increase in the cost of integration (employment, housing, crime, health care and education) social and cultural tensions

Key territorial challenges Differentiated patterns of demographic change (11) east / west, centre / periphery, south / north, urban / rural divisions countries with highest level of ageing population versus countries with youngest population Concentration of immigration from outside Europe in large and mainly capital cities (2)

Key territorial challenges Different territorial destinations for intra-European migration (5) affluent retirees moving from north to south and Mediterranean regions, east European workers searching for job in western European countries

Key territorial challenges Meso level territorial differentiation (6) metropolitanisation, depopulation and counter-urbanisation Growing population in metropolitan areas both in western and eastern Europe versus Depopulation of rural areas in eastern and western peripheries, central part of Germany, central and north Italy Shrinking regions with declining basic services

Key territorial challenges Micro level spatial segregation (0) Affluent older people moving to rural areas with lower crime rates, good access to health services and pleasant climate versus lower income older people remaining in urban areas

Key territorial challenges Family policies (1) Fertility (2) Conditions for women (2) Combination of natural evolution (total fertility rate) and migration (1) Lower tier cities attractivity (1) Balanced population settlement (1) Problem of models to analyse decline (1)

conclusions ESPON should give the evidence and let the decisions maker do their job ESPON should be selective when choosing the research topics (geographical or thematic selectivity) Topics have to be studied from the territorial point of view