East and Southeast European countries face significant population challenges: low fertility, out-migration, relatively high mortality, weak healthcare systems and unhealthy lifestyles, while also having problematic pension systems and elderly high poverty rates. To examine the origins of these challenges, current dilemmas and future scenarios, the 11th Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) Annual Conference 2024, “Getting Old in Eastern Europe: Social, Political and Economic Dimensions of Ageing in the Past and Present”, offered a comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective on ageing in the region.
ULF BRUNNBAUER (Regensburg), director of the Regensburg-based IOS, opened the conference, highlighting the importance of its topic. He explained that demographic change is among the topics researched at IOS, for example in the project “Transforming Anxieties of Ageing in Southeastern Europe”, which is funded by the VolkswagenStiftung and which co-sponsored the conference. Co-organiser Vladimir Kozlov, also from IOS Regensburg, presented East and Southeast Europe, including Central Asia, as an interesting laboratory for demographic research because of the variety of developments.
In the first keynote address, EDUARD JONGSTRA (Istanbul) discussed demographic anxieties in the Western Balkans, compared to the wider region. He highlighted key demographic features, typical government responses and the emerging methodical response by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to assist governments in addressing perceived demographic challenges. This approach, known as “demographic resilience”, focuses on human capital and increasing productivity and adaptability to counter current demographic trends. He also explained the shift away from the concept of “demographic security” in UNFPA's work. He called for less panic, reminding that policy measures on demographic developments must be based on human rights and gender equality.
The second keynote, by ALISSA KLOTS (Pittsburgh), examined the lives of older people in the Soviet Union after Nikita Khrushchev introduced a universal pension system, which created the first mass generation of Soviet retirees between 1956 and 1964. To encourage pensioners’ continued engagement with the socialist project, the official discourse promoted a new, socialist vision of old age. This vision included volunteering in various public organisations. Klots focused on the lives of a select group of such volunteers, using the Soviet concept of active old age as a lens to explore socialist ideology and the meanings of successful ageing.
The conference’s first panel focused on demography and population development. ALEKSANDRA VULETIĆ (Belgrade) and IVAN MARINKOVIĆ (Belgrade) examined Serbia’s demographic changes, using 1890, 1921, 1961 and 2022 census data. They highlighted shifts from accelerated life cycles and war-affected generations to significant demographic changes since the 1960s. While the 1961 census showed the most balanced age structure, trends of low fertility rates since the 1950s and substantial youth emigration since the 1960s have led to demographic ageing. Comparing Serbia with Western European countries, they noted that only an inflow of migrants could alter Serbia’s current age structure.
KRISTIJAN FIDANOVSKI (Oxford) analysed child benefits and fertility behaviour, using 2002–2021 data from 26 European countries. The research showed a positive and significant association between benefit generosity and fertility rates, confirming scholarly consensus. However, there was limited evidence of a “pronatalist premium” favouring early childhood and higher birth orders. The findings emphasised the need to disaggregate the relationship between child benefits and fertility by child age and birth order. Recent pro-natalist policies have proven costly, causing only a temporary spike in birth rates.
The second panel focused on economic dimensions of ageing. NAZLI ŞAHANOĞULLARI (Istanbul) discussed the effects of ageing on Turkey’s pension system. Her research analysed public transfers for the elderly, highlighting the need for long-term projections due to increasing life expectancies and changes in elderly dependency ratios. The study examined the historical context of public transfers in Turkey and the proportion of pension transfers in total cash transfers. It also assessed the impact of recent reforms on social insurance, providing crucial information for policymakers. Şahanoğulları noted Turkey is entering an era of demographic decline for the first time in recent history.
VALERIU PROHNIŢCHI’s (Chișinău) presentation examined the fiscal implications of ageing in Moldova, blending demography and macroeconomics. Using state budget revenues and expenditures, public debt and age incidence data, he developed demographic projections until 2040, including age profiles of key macroeconomic variables like labour income, consumption, taxes and transfers. The results indicated a significant increase in fiscal pressures due to population ageing, particularly for pensions and health services. However, small but steady gains in labour productivity and the gradual extension of the economically active lifespan could mitigate the fiscal burden.
RÓBERT IVÁN GÁL (Budapest) looked at Central and Eastern European Countries’ (CEE) population through the lens of retirement age and life expectancy. He noted that educational composition in the 55–64 age bracket improved between the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s and the effective retirement age rose rapidly in the region. This increase was fast enough to keep life expectancies at the effective retirement age practically unchanged: the labour market absorbed all life expectancies improvements. He noted that sustaining pension system stability over the next 30 years would require less effort in raising retirement ages than the experience of the past 15 years.
The third panel explored expert discourses on policy making. DANIELA KOLEVA (Sofia) examined knowledge production and images of old age in communist Bulgaria, comparing three hegemonic discourses. The ideological discourse, examined through the official newspaper “Rabotnichesko Delo”, depicted old people and their roles in socialist society: from reactionary to custodians of national traditions. The state discourse was analysed based on pension laws. It viewed retirees as a labour resource to address shortages. The scientific discourse, developed in gerontological literature from the 1960s on, focused on medical research and practice, viewing older people primarily through their bodies and pathologies.
CORINA DOBOȘ (Bucharest) examined how population ageing was articulated in public and political discourses in Romania’s late socialism. She linked the international debates about “population optimum” and “zero population growth” with the national population forecasts and economic planning practices and needs. Moreover, the research provided an analysis of the solutions designed during the 1970s and 1980s to address questions related to population ageing and workforce shortage in rural areas, including different welfare schemes and internal migration restrictions to temper youth leaving the countryside and increasing birth-rates.
ADELA HÎNCU (Cluj-Napoca) focused on scientific and philosophical research on ageing in socialist Romania, highlighting the work of Ana Aslan, a key figure in the institutionalisation of gerontology and geriatrics in Romania, who made Gerovital treatment an international sensation. Using an interdisciplinary approach to ageing, Hîncu incorporated psychology, sociology, mathematics and cybernetics, discussing the concept of “active old age” and its social implications. The Romanian case study explored whether there was a specifically socialist approach to ageing and how it continues to inform contemporary perspectives.
NITA HANDASTYA (Padua) explored how social policies interact with the pensioner’s childhood circumstances in affecting various health outcomes in post-communist Baltic states, using SHARE data. Until the Soviet Union’s fall, the three Baltic states shared a similar system. But recent studies reveal divergent paths after three decades of independence. Today’s pensioners have lived through the Soviet era, the transitional period and European Union (EU) integration. Their health outcomes in old age are shaped by lifelong factors: education, nutrition and exposure to adversities, with today’s state social policies continuing to play a crucial role.
The fourth panel focused on inequalities of ageing. OLGA GAGAUZ (Chișinău) and VALERIU PROHNIŢCH (Chișinău) discussed rural-urban economic disparities among the elderly in Moldova, using national transfer accounts. Their analysis of public and private transfers, asset redistribution and savings revealed a decline in total disposable incomes for rural residents, more so than for urban residents, from 2019 to 2022. They found that older people’s disposable incomes decrease significantly with age in both areas. Remittances play an important role in covering the Life Cycle Deficit (LCD), with urban elderly having higher LCD. The findings underscore the need to address urban-rural inequality.
PETRU NEGURĂ (Regensburg) looked at Moldova’s growing risk of extreme poverty, including homelessness, among the elderly and the need for an adequate response to societal and demographic challenges. Explored and re-evaluating institutional-based vs. community-based services for impoverished elderly, he described the recent reforms of “asylum”-type institutions and policies to incentivise the creation of family-like services within communities. Discussion focused on homelessness as an urban phenomenon and the question of restorative nostalgia and its political implications (as a source of support for pro-Russian parties).
RADOSLAVA GUIRGUINOVA (Stuttgart) explored how the built environment impacts quality of life and visibility of the elderly. She examined the transformation of post-socialist cities since 1989, drawing parallels between political and administrative developments and their influence on infrastructures and socio-cultural aspects of ageing. Post-Cold War instability led to the destruction of urban infrastructure and mechanisms, fostering a fear of ageing, equated with poverty and rising inequality. While affluent retirees can afford private solutions, the general ageing population’s future depends on socio-economic support and political will at the state level.
RALUCA ELENA BUIA (Venice) presented on the pandemic’s impact on labour market outcomes for Europe’s older workers, with disruptions exacerbating age bias in hiring practices. Using SHARE data, Buia examined the pandemic’s first wave effect on older workers’ careers. Results indicated that experiencing work disruptions in 2020 significantly increased the likelihood of retirement or unemployment in 2021 and 2022. Effects varied by country – insignificant in Northern Europe but notable in Baltic and CEE countries. The discussion highlighted permanent labour market exclusion and explored different countries’ job retention investments.
A panel on perceptions and representations of ageing started the conference’s last day. JUDITH BREHMER (Munich) provided a historical view of the lives of retirees in socialist Czechoslovakia, where retirement posed the threat of losing social networks and – given that much of the political and social life was organised around the workplace – the means of social and political participation. Brehmer provided insights through analysing letters sent by elderly citizens to various state representatives – mainly to the president of Czechoslovakia, but also to various national committees. Discussion focused on the role of letter-writing in other socialist regimes, comparing it to the presented Czechoslovak example.
ANDREA BĚLEHRADOVÁ (Hradec Králové) examined prolonging productivity and sexual activity in older age, looking at expert and political debates in socialist Czechoslovakia. With the increasing number of retirees, experts had warned that preserving social stability necessitated keeping elderly in good health and prolonging their productivity. Intensified interest in ageing also brought focus on issues of sexuality by the late 1950s. Bělehradová focused on institutional framework changes and expert networks shaping perceptions of old age and attitudes towards ageing sexuality, including sexually-active ageing seen as enhancing productivity and life satisfaction.
ORSOLYA UDVARI (Budapest) explored Hungary’s population discourses on demographic nationalism and ageing. Using media discourse analysis, the study found a reduction in the variety of representations of ageing and overall social visions, making fertility central. Population discourses are active in fuelling demographic anxiety, with demographic nationalism and developmental discourses appearing frequently together, creating a sense of crisis. Political instrumentalisation of ageing is also present, with most media focusing on pension allowances. The discourses set expectations of a crisis response coming mainly from the state – and only partially from the market and family.
The sixth panel focused on elder care from a historical perspective. MAREK TUSZEWICKI (Kraków) discussed the history of Jewish elderly homes (moshav zkenim) in Eastern Europe. By the early 20th century, partitioned Poland alone hosted around 100 such institutions, mainly in medium-sized and large cities. These homes catered to various residents, both genders, typically over 60, from diverse strata of the Jewish community. They offered care, food, clothing and freedom of religious worship. The push to establish these facilities, modelled on those in wealthier countries, reflected Jewish modernization efforts amidst significant out-migration of younger generations, which heightened the need for institutionalised elder care.
INXHI BRISKU (Sofia) analysed the establishment of state-run elderly homes during the socialist regime’s consolidation in Albania. The research examined elder treatment, institutional origins, acceptance criteria and daily life in these facilities within the socio-political landscape of socialist Albania. It explored governmental policies and societal factors shaping elderly home development, emphasising ideological influences on elder care. The discussion highlighted Albania’s adoption of the Soviet model and the fact that these homes accepted only elderly individuals without families. The state also absorbed pension income and resident property to fund operations.
The seventh and last panel looked at recent trends in elder care AURELIA BORZIN (Regensburg) and KRISTIYAN HRISTOV (Sofia) focused on home and day care as important long-term care alternatives to institutional care, exploring recent individual ageing narratives and concrete experiences at the intersection of day centre services and home care in the Romanian and Bulgarian contexts. With most SEE families still reluctant to use nursing homes, the sense of home ownership is deeply ingrained in family behaviour, influenced by personal connections to a place and associated relationships and the social stigma still associated with putting (grand)parents in a care home.
NOÉMI KATONA (Budapest) and DÓRA GÁBRIEL (Budapest) explored Hungary’s informal elder care market, analysing its current trends and the complex interactions among the state, informal sector and households. Their research, based on interviews with various stakeholders, highlighted the impact of insufficient legislation on caregivers, care recipients and families. It also examined the role of intermediaries. The findings underscored increasing care shortages due to state disengagement, with significant disparities in care quality dictated by social and economic inequalities among households. The lack of regulation in home-based care poses challenges, requiring households to navigate an uncertain landscape.
NATAŠA TODOROVIĆ (Belgrade) and MILUTIN VRAČEVIĆ (Belgrade) discussed the role of informal caregivers in the Western Balkans’ long-term care (LTC) systems. They highlighted how demographic ageing and out-migration are impacting the region. Changing family structures, longer lifespans and low fertility underscore the urgency for robust LTC systems. Informal caregivers, predominantly relatives and friends, provide uncompensated care, addressing a significant portion of LTC needs (94.7 percent in Albania, 57.6 percent in Serbia). Despite their crucial role, these caregivers are underrepresented in public policies.
Ulf Brunnbauer’s conference concluding remarks highlighted the productivity of bringing together perspectives on ageing from different disciplines. Care patterns in East and Southeast Europe show long-term continuities, while the caesura of the 20th century greatly affected care and old age. The conference made clear the need for more comparative and transregional research in order to better understand the importance of local contexts and national legislation, he noted.
Conference overview:
Ulf Brunnbauer (Regensburg): Opening greetings
Vladimir Kozlov (Regensburg) / Kathleen Beger (Regensburg): Introduction to the conference themes and keynote lecturers
Keynote lectures
Eduard Jongstra (Istanbul): From demographic security to demographic resilience
Alissa Klots (Pittsburgh): The restless generation: Soviet retirees and the meanings of active old
Panel I: Demography and population development
Chair: Vladimir Kozlov (Regensburg)
Aleksandra Vuletić (Belgrade) / Ivan Marinković (Belgrade): Shifts in the age-sex structure of Serbia’s population: From the late 19th to the early 21st century
Kristijan Fidanovski (Oxford): Child benefits and fertility behaviour in Europe: Do child age and birth order matter?
Panel II: Economic dimensions of ageing
Chair: Olga Popova (Regensburg)
Nazlı Şahanoğulları (Istanbul): How ageing will affect the pension system in Turkey? An analysis of public transfers for the elderly in Turkey
Valeriu Prohniţchi (Chișinău): Fiscal implications of ageing in Moldova
Róbert Iván Gál (Budapest): How serious is the problem of population ageing?
Panel III: Expert discourses and policy making
Chair: Ulf Brunnbauer (Regensburg)
Daniela Koleva (Sofia): Constructing old age in communist Bulgaria: Ideology, policy, science
Corina Doboș (Bucharest): Population ageing in late socialist Romania: Knowledge production and policy making
Adela Hîncu (Cluj-Napoca): Tending to a crisis in the making: Scientific and philosophical research on ageing in socialist Romania
Nita Handastya (Padua): Childhood’s circumstances and the old-age health in the Baltic’s post-communist welfare state
Panel IV: Inequalities of ageing
Chair: Sinem Ayhan (Regensburg)
Olga Gagauz (Chișinău) / Valeriu Prohniţchi (Chișinău): Rural-urban economic inequality of elderly: Evidence from national transfer accounts for Moldova
Petru Negură (Regensburg): Family breakdown, survival strategies and post-soviet Nostalgia: Ageing homeless in Moldova
Radoslava Guirguinova (Stuttgart): The paradox of Eastern and Southeastern Europe’s disappearing elderly: The role of the built environment in the process of ageing
Raluca Elena Buia (Venice): The evolution of (post) pandemic labour market outcomes of older workers in Europe
Panel V: Perceptions and representations of ageing
Chair: Daniela Koleva (Sofia)
Judith Brehmer (Munich): (Re-)negotiating one’s place in society after retirement in Czechoslovakia
Andrea Bělehradová (Hradec Králové): Ageing in socialist Czechoslovakia: From prolonging productivity to sexual activity in older age
Orsolya Udvari (Budapest): Analysing demographic nationalism and ageing within population discourses in the Hungarian context
Panel VI: Care for older people (1): Historical perspectives
Chair: Andi Balla (Regensburg)
Marek Tuszewicki (Kraków): Jewish elderly homes (moshav zkenim) in Eastern Europe as markers of modernity
Inxhi Brisku (Sofia): Eldercare in socialist Albania: An institutional analysis during the consolidation of the regime
Panel VII: Care for older people (2): Recent trends
Chair: Kathleen Beger (Regensburg)
Aurelia Borzin (Regensburg) / Kristiyan Hristov (Sofia): Home care and day care: An important long-term care alternative of institutional care
Noémi Katona (Budapest) / Dóra Gábriel (Budapest): The informal elder care market in Hungary: Negotiations between households and care workers in the informal market
Nataša Todorović (Belgrade), Milutin Vračević (Belgrade): The role of informal caregivers in the long-term care (LTC) systems in the Western Balkans
Concluding remarks