Turning the Italian Silver Economy into gold: providing goods and services to an ageing population ​

5 Intr oduc ti on T his the sis a ddre sse s one of the most c ruc ia l soc ioe c onomic a l proble ms for the future of our c ountry, the issue of a ge ing of the Ita lia n popula tion, a na lysing the c ha lle nge s a nd opportunitie s re la te d to it, with the a im of c ontributing to the study of Silve rs be ha viour towa rd innova tive solutions a ble to e nsure suc c e ssful a ge ing of the popula tion. T his tre nd is drive n by the de mogra phic dyna mic s of W e ste rn c ountrie s, e spe c ia lly by the le ngthe ning of a ve ra ge life a nd the fa ll in the birth ra te . T he inc re a se in life e xpe c ta nc y is a sign of the de ve lopme nt of soc ie ty a nd, a bove a ll, of its me dic a l a nd sc ie ntific progre ss, while the fa ll in births ma inly de pe nds on obsta c le s of da ily life , suc h a s une mployme nt, job inse c urity or insuffic ie nt polic ie s to re c onc ile work a nd fa mily life a nd the inve stme nt in e duc a tion, whic h move s the time to sta rt a fa mily so fa r forwa rd tha t the birth ra te is a ffe c te d. T he thre a t c ould je opa rdiz e not only the he a lth se c tor, but the e c onomic a nd soc ia l ba la nc e of the e ntire c ountry. In fa c t, the a ge ing of the popula tion is tra ditiona lly a ssoc ia te d with ne ga tive e c onomic phe nome na , na me ly the inc re a se in public e xpe nditure on he a lth a nd soc ia l c a re se rvic e s, inc re a se d pre ssure on the pe nsion syste m a nd a de c line in workforc e a nd c onsumption. T hus, a n e c onomy ba se d on this growing pa rt of the popula tion c ould be a driving forc e for the c ountry's e c onomic re c ove ry. T he offe r of produc ts, se rvic e s a nd innova tions a ime d a t this a udie nc e re pre se nts the Silve r E c onomy, a ma rke t of opportunitie s a rising from ne e ds a nd wa nts of olde r pe ople still in a utonomy a nd in the fullne ss of the ir physic a l, c ognitive a nd fina nc ia l c a pa bilitie s. As a re fe re nc e , if it we re a sta te , the Silve r E c onomy would be the world's third-la rge st e c onomic powe r, just be hind the Unite d Sta te s a nd C hina . T he first c ha pte r ope ns with the de finition of Silve r E c onomy a c c ording to diffe re nt studie s, ra nging from na tiona l to E urope a n a nd inte rna tiona l one s. T he de finitions inc lude a ge ne ra lly ide ntic a l ta rge t a udie nc e , the Silve rs, but de pe nding on the re se a rc h, the sa mple the y use va rie s in minimum a ge . T he la tte r ma y or ma y not be se t rigidly by the re se a rc he rs in que stion, while othe r me thods sugge st a more fle xible a pproa c h to de fine the lowe r bounda ry tha t distinguishe s se nior a ge . Ge ne ra lly, se niors c a n be divide d into two broa d c a te gorie s, those who se e k gre a te r pe rsona l a utonomy a nd inde pe nde nc e a nd those who ne e d a ssista nc e . R e ga rdle ss of the diffe re nc e s, the studie s foc us on the re va lua tion of the e lde rly, who should not be la be lle d a s a pa ssive a c tor