Composite Indices as International Approaches to Elderly Population Well-being Evaluation: Evidence from Russia

Abstract

Population ageing is a natural process with irreversible consequences. Therefore, it has become an important agenda for economic and social policy. It requires the development and practical implementation of new tools for the integrated assessment of the main aspects of the elderly generation economic and social well-being. We account for over 50 years of active academic research work in the area of ​​enhanced elderly population’s well-being assessment as a complex socio-economic phenomenon. The phenomenon may comprise a number of components for evaluation on the basis of both quantitative objective criteria and qualitative subjective criteria. The paper addresses the question of using composite indices such as the AgeWatch Index and the Active Ageing Index for assessing the well-being of the elderly generation in the Russian Federation. The authors also debate the issue of the availability and comparability of the existing data for the Active Ageing Index calculation for Russia. The scope of the analysis falls within national Russian statistical databases in order to determine the possibility of the correct choice of relevant indicators from the sources available for the AAI calculation according to its original methodology.