Josef Kytir

Abstract

The present study is (1) an attempt to outline the reasons for and the course of the ageing transition in Austria, and (2) to predict what might be the social consequences of this process.It seems clear that the social outcomes of demographic ageing and increased longevity discussed in this paper represent only a very selective view of societal consequences for the demographic development of the coming decades. The entire complex raises essential questions about one's place in society and meaning of life in the some twenty years between, first, ceasing gainful employment and finally, death (Imhof 1981; Neugarten and Neugarten 1986; Gockenjan and Kondratowitz 1988; Ehmer 1990). Both society as a whole and the individual will be faced with the necessity to answer these questions. Together with other academic disciplines, demography and population geography can share the attempt to answer these questions.

Josef Kytir, Institute of Demography, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria