SustAgeable – Economic and social sustainability across time and space in an ageing society

MDI is responsible for the interaction tasks in the context of the SustAgeable project, funded by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland. The project is part of the DEMOGRAPHY (2021–2027) programme, Demographic Change – Causes, Consequences and Solutions which started in autumn 2021 and which “seeks to find solutions to adapt to the changing age structure of the population and to maintain its capacity for social activity and renewal”.

Population ageing undermines the economic sustainability of the welfare state. In the SustAgeable project the consortium seeks solutions to protect and promote the well-being of the population while restoring the economic sustainability of the welfare state. The multidisciplinary work is guided by the framework of economic and social sustainability.

The SustAgeable consortium focuses on 1) the distribution of well-being and resources across geographical areas, generations and population groups as a key element of social sustainability, 2) cost-containment of public spending on social and health care services, 3) opportunities to increase employment through prolonging working careers and promoting immigrants’ integration, 4) management of caring responsibilities, and 5) local variations in ageing trends due to immigration and urbanisation.

The consortium includes the Finnish institute for health and welfare (THL), VATT, the institute for economic research, the University of Eastern Finland, the Finnish Centre for Pensions and the University of Lapland.