Is the silver economy a business opportunity? 11 Analyse. What does silver economy mean? What factors have made it possible for us to live longer lives? What factors could end this trend? What problems does demographic ageing create? What opportunities does it offer? 12 Think and evaluate. MAKE CONNECTIONS. Imagine yourself at age 65. What kind of life would you like to have at that age? Would you start your own business, study something, volunteer with an NGO etc.? DISCUSS. Do you share Juan Pablo Riesgo's belief in active retirement? Why? The ageing of the population is one of the great social and economic changes that is currently occurring on a global level . No developed countr y can ignore this unstoppable reality, which is both worr ying and exciting. Since 1840, life expectancy has been rising at a rate of two and a half years per decade. Forecasts predict societies will live increasingly longer. However, this will also depend on climate change, economic recessions, the threat of major wars and new diseases. This rising life expectancy will create major challenges for public health and pension systems. [...] However, for the last five years, there has not only been talk of the collapse of the welfare state, but also talk of the silver, or elderly, economy. Some experts [...] say that this sector of the population will provide the main stimulus for GDP growth . One of the main topics of conversation in the next few years will be how to create wealth from this generation […]. The European Commission has included the development of the silver economy as a priority for companies in the EU. "The average revenue and profit growth generated by companies with ageing-related businesses has been higher than that of the overall market," it states. The European Commission distinguishes between active, frail and dependent people. This is because there are two sides to the silver economy. One side offers products and ser vices related to leisure, entertainment and active ageing. The other is aimed at people with poorer health who need to be looked after and require geriatric care. In both cases, there are business opportunities, especially in health care, but also in wellbeing, nutrition , security, culture, tourism, leisure, autonomous personal transport, sport, fashion , cosmetics, finance and insurance, urban planning and smart home automation . There are also opportunities in the field of lifelong learning. "This will gradually develop, especially if legislation facilitates extending the working age by making it compatible with pensions," says Pablo Antonio Muñoz, professor of Marketing and Market Research at Universidad de Salamanca . For this revolution to succeed , extending the working age will be essential . Spain needs to work on this area . "The rate of employment for people over 55 is 53 %, one of the lowest rates in developed countries. This is due to a lack of confidence in senior talent, and age discrimination ," says Juan Pablo Riesgo. He is in favour of active retirement (receiving a pension and working at the same time). "This will allow millions of people of this age to continue working, saving, creating and consuming. It will make it possible to create new industries and for more people to become entrepreneurs, many of them senior citizens [...]," adds Iñaki Ortega . In fact, 18 % of adults aged between 50 and 64 are entrepreneurs, compared to 11 % of young people aged between 18 and 29. Sandra López Letón, "Viejenials: el gran negocio de disfrutar la vejez", from El País, 15th December 2019 (Adapted) G E O G R A P H Y I N M Y L I F E 48
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