Comparative analysis of the silver economy capacity in Russia and the EU

Abstract

The article analyses the prospects of the development of silver economy in Russia. The relevance of the topic is confirmed by the global trend caused by aging of the population. Silver (or longevity) economy is a sector of the economy, which provides well-being of the elderly. The subject of the study is a comparison between the potential of the silver economy in Russia and the European Union. The aim of the study is to analyse the key differences of the silver economy in Russia and the countries of the EU. The article examines the methodology and the results of the assessment of the scale of silver economy and its contribution to the aggregate demand and GDP of the European Union. The authors estimated the scale of the silver economy in Russia at the national and regional levels. Based on the results obtained, the authors compared the volume of the silver economy in Russia and the EU and identified the main factors influencing this sector in Russia. Moreover, the authors identified a high level of interregional differentiation in terms of silver economy development. Therefore, the differentiated measures of regional policy in relation to the citizens of the older generation were proposed in order to eliminate significant regional disparities. The authors propose measures aimed at supporting the demand of senior citizens for regions with an average level of development of the silver economy. The study also proposes to concentrate the state policy efforts on social security for the regions with low potential of the silver economy.