LIST OF PANELS

With an aging population a reality in a wide range of industrialised countries, this panel focuses on policy research surrounding older adults.

COVID-19 has put to light several weaknesses with the infrastructure of programs assisting older adults, most notably in long-term care, which have been well documented prior to the pandemic (Werner et al., 2020). Other weaknesses relate to the governance of social services like home care (Longo and Notarnicola, 2018), the impact of different types of providers (Fischer et al., 2022), and the overall conditions and environments of carers (Baines et al., 2022). The capacity of cities to handle an increasing number of responsibilities towards seniors represents another fertile terrain for researchers (Joy, 2020). Beyond health and social services, the current socio-economic climate also raises concerns with the adequacy and sustainability of pension systems and other forms of precarity .

While the pandemic is still ongoing, COVID-19 has represented a window of opportunity to improve long-term care and tackle other policies targeting older adults (Béland and Marier, 2020). This brings up other interesting research questions in public policy. For instance, while the comparative welfare state literature has debated the strength and influence of seniors’ organizations to prevent cutbacks to programs benefiting seniors over two decades (Pierson, 1994), research in social gerontology points that the adaption and the introduction of new programs tend to feature budget cuts. Worse, are Baby Boomers now construed as a social problem (Bristow, 2016)? Is this conceptualisation of social problem resulting in the development of new policy instruments accentuating the role of the private sector and informal support provided most notably by family members? Also, how is the primary reliance on medical expertise in aging influencing its development (Estes and Binney, 1989) while contributing to a re-familialization of policy? Have social policy experts been pushed aside in the aftermath of COVID-19? Are new policy design and instruments flourishing in the post-COVID-19 world?

The panel prefers papers with a comparative analysis, across policy areas related to (population) aging or across cases, but the organizers welcome all types of contributions.

This panel will only accept onsite presentations.

This panel seeks public policy contributions focused on aging along the following themes:

1)    Papers centred on public policies/programs targeting older adults. This includes for instance long-term care, pensions, and health services. What factors matter when it comes to policy change? What instruments are being utilised? Is the promise of technology integrated within policy reforms or is the use of technology resulting in additional barriers for seniors? To what extent is there policy diffusion and how/where does this manifest itself?

2)    With many services targeting seniors involving a wide range of actors, the panel seeks contributions focused on the coordination and governance of services. This includes the collaboration of public authorities at various levels, collaboration between types of providers (public, private, and not-for-profit). Is it appropriate to talk about multi-level governance when it comes to services targeting seniors? Has COVID-19 stopped the increasing reliance on the private sector? What explains successful collaboration and failures?

3)    The use of expertise in the development of public policies targeting seniors. This includes, for instance, how social expertise is utilised in a highly medicalized policy process. Is the strong reliance on social sciences in Scandinavian countries still present and, if so, an exception? It can also include how international organizations influence the policy process at the national and local level. Is the World Bank still an influential actor in pension reform? Is the World Heath Organization an influential actor in health, social care, and urban policy reform?

4)    The social construction of aging in the media, the political arena, and/or within the policy process and its consequences. Are references to tsunamis and storms becoming more frequent and how do these alter the policy process? In many jurisdictions, the high number of deaths in long-term care did not result in the major shift in approach hoped from advocates and many professionals. Why?

5)    Governmental responses to COVID-19 and their impact on older adults. Has COVID-19 altered the politics of long-term care? Has it led to substantial social reforms?

6)    Caregiving and public policy. To what extent are caregivers being instrumentalized in the care journey of seniors? To what extent does the formal/informal status matter and manifest itself in the policy process?

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and that contributions fitting within the overall them of the panel are welcomed.