Regional Features of Population Aging and Economic Activity of Older People in Russia (According to Censuses 2002, 2010).

<p>Population aging and reduction of the share of the working age population put the question of increasing of the elderly people employment on the agenda. The importance of the study of the impact of population aging on its economic activity is mainly due to the importance of ongoing demographic change on the labor market. Firstly, aging significantly increases the burden on the working population. Secondly, the changes of population sex-age structure in Russia can seriously aggravate the problem.</p><p>This work considers the traditional and prospective approaches to the assessment of aging, summarizes the existing scale of aging, analyzes national and foreign experience of studying of aging and labor market indicators; regional characteristics of aging in Russia are determined and the determinants of labor force participation in older age groups are explored. Differentiation of economic activity in Russia and the impact of population aging on this indicator is discussed. The necessity of reforming the regional labor markets is stated.</p><p>The purpose of the research is to identify regional characteristics of aging (in traditional and prospective measurements of age) and to assess its impact on the economic activity of the elderly. The main objectives of the study are identification of regional features of aging in Russia in the traditional measurement and prospective age, study of the effect of various factors on the level of economic activity of elderly in the regions of Russia and the role of population aging among them.</p><p>In this study we used the concept of prospective age, developed by foreign researchers Sanderson and Scherbov. This approach is proposed to use prospective indicators that are constructed not on the basis of chronological presentation of the age but depending on life expectancy.</p><p>In general, demographic differences between regions are being gradually reduced. The main driver of change in the age structure of the population is migration, which polarizes the country, forming local areas of inflow and expanding areas of migratory outflow. The distribution of Russian regions according to the degree of demographic aging in traditional terms, adjusted for prospective indicators reveals that there are a number of regions, the degree of aging in which depends on the chosen method of calculations. These include the &quot;young&quot; regions of the Far North with the significant migration outflow of people of retirement age, and &quot;young&quot; North Caucasus republics, in which the level of fertility is still high. Intensity of aging is high and almost the same within two approaches in the most densely populated regions of the country, in which the great bulk of economic, labor and intellectual potential, not only important for the population, but also for socio-economic development of Russia.</p><p>For the first time population aging in Russian regions is analyzed in two dimensions: retrospective (chronological) and prospective ages. Analysis of regional differentiation of economic activity and the impact of aging on the economic activity of elderly is based on the census 2010.</p>