Pensions and social protection for older people

International research on older people in developing countries has been dominated (perhaps too much so) by concerns about the extension, effectiveness and sustainability of pension programmes. These include:

• Large-scale, costly contributory schemes, which typically cover richer social groups and absorb large amounts of public spending.
• A growing range of social pension schemes for the poor, which are increasingly seen as a key social protection strategy for poverty reduction in the South.

Our research mainly focuses on social pensions, particularly their impacts on poor households in South Africa and Brazil. This includes a major study funded by the UK Department for International Development, which has now been extended as part of the ESRC’s New Dynamics of Ageing Programme [link to http://newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk/]. This links into wider social protection research activities in the School.

We have also conducted out separate studies of contributory pension reform in South East Asia and Latin America.

Publications

P.Lloyd-Sherlock and E.Schröder-Butterfill “Social security pension “reforms” in Thailand and Indonesia: unsustainable and unjust”. School of Development Studies, Working Paper 3 (2008)

C. Lewis and P. Lloyd-Sherlock “Social Policy and Economic Development in South America: an historical approach to social insurance” Economy and Society (forthcoming)

P. Lloyd-Sherlock “Simple transfers, complex outcomes. The impacts of pensions on poor households in Brazil” Development and Change (2006) 37(5): 969 - 995

“Non-contributory pensions and poverty prevention. A comparative study of Brazil and South Africa”. HelpAge International, London

P.Lloyd-Sherlock “Formal social protection and older people in developing countries: three different approaches” Journal of Social Policy 31 (4) (2002): 695-713

P.Lloyd-Sherlock and A.Barrientos "Non-contributory pensions and social protection" International Labour Office, Issues in Social Protection Discussion Paper 12, Geneva, ISBN 92-2-113726-0 (2002)

The impacts of AIDS on older people in sub-Saharan Africa

The impact of HIV/AIDS on older people and their households is a growing focus for the group, drawing on the wider expertise of the UEA AIDS and Development Group.

As a result of an ESRC/MRC funded research project in Uganda, on Livelihood Trajectories Janet Seeley has been engaged in research on the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the health and daily life of older people.  Further research, supported by WHO, is now planned looking specifically at the mental health of older people affected by the AIDS epidemic.

Publications

J. Seeley, E. Kabunga, G. Tumwekwase, B. Wolff, and H. Grosskurth “The Impact of the AIDS Epidemic on the Lives of Older People in Rural Uganda”. School of Development Studies Working Paper 4/2008

J. Seeley, B. Wolff, E. Kabunga, G. Tumwekwase and H. Grosskurth “’And this is where we’ve buried our sons’ – the oldest old people coping with the impact of the AIDS epidemic in a resource-poor setting in rural Uganda” Ageing and Society (forthcoming).

Population ageing and international development

This research theme explores:

• How complex processes of international development affect the lives of older people and experiences of individual ageing.
• Links between population ageing and development: why is ageing occurring more rapidly in some countries than in others? What are the consequences of population change for future development, especially in middle and low income countries?

This work is funded by a Leverhulme Foundation research Fellowship, held by Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, as well as work funded by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs.

Publications

“Guide to the national implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing” United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York (2008) (Peter Lloyd-Sherlock as lead author)

P. Lloyd-Sherlock Population ageing and international development: from generalisation to evidence. Policy Press (forthcoming 2009)

P. Lloyd-Sherlock “Ageing and development” in D.Dannefer and C.Phillipson, eds. International handbook of social gerontology Sage Books (forthcoming 2008).

P. Lloyd-Sherlock “Ageing and development” in The Elgar Companion to Development Studies Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (2006).

Older people, climate change and natural disasters

The group is currently developing new research on older people's experience of the impacts of natural and hazards and disasters. Research foci include: differential vulnerability of older people to hazard events and what the implications of climate change may be for older people; how ageing over the life course interacts with episodic lifetime 'shocks' such as repeated exposure to tropical cyclones; and the role of older people in inter-generational transmission of knowledge and guidance on coping with hazards/disasters.

Ageing, vulnerability and the life-course

This theme explores experiences of individual ageing and later life, locating them within wider life-course frameworks. Particular interests include patterns of vulnerability, capability and relational wellbeing in later life and how age intersects with other identities such as gender. A key objective is to develop innovative research frameworks and methodologies.

As part of this, we organised an international workshop on “Lifecourse, wellbeing and public policy”, which took place at UEA in November 2006, with funding from the Wellcome Trust and British Academy. Recent country studies include projects in Argentina and Thailand.

Publications

P. Lloyd-Sherlock and C. Locke “Vulnerable relations: lifecourse, wellbeing and social exclusion in a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina”. Ageing and Society (2008) 28 (8): 1177-1201

P. Lloyd-Sherlock “Identifying vulnerable older people: insights from Thailand” Ageing and Society (2006) 26 (1): 81-103

C.Locke and P.Lloyd-Sherlock (2007) “Methodological Challenges for Understanding Women’s Wellbeing in Later Life”, School of Development Studies, mimeo

Group members

Peter Lloyd-Sherlock is Professor in Social Policy and International Development (DEV). His main area of research looks at social protection and the wellbeing of older people in developing countries. He has mainly worked in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Thailand.

Janet Seeley is Senior Lecturer in Gender and Development (DEV). Her research in relation to ageing and development mainly focuses on the impacts of HIV and AIDS on older people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Catherine Locke is Senior Lecturer in Development Studies (DEV). Her research interests include gender analysis and the wellbeing of older people.

Roger Few is Senior Research Fellow (DEV/ODG). He works on climate change and the impacts of natural hazards and disasters.