Population ageing in eastern Europe: Toward a coupled micro-macro framework

Population ageing has been a major demographic trend in Europe. The post-socialist countries are still younger than the European average, but their age transitions are well underway. These transi-tions are particularly challenging in the rural areas of the region. These areas often do not have enough resources or sufficient community capaci-ty to address the challenges of ageing in place. Although there is considerable variation in the way that ageing influences rural municipalities, it is im-portant to consider an overall framework to inves-tigate this variation. This paper presents an inter-linked approach that aims to connect the macro-level and micro-level perspectives on population ageing through the example of Eastern Europe and a detailed study of Bulgaria and Lithuania. Us-ing the unique challenges faced by rural communi-ties in post-socialist countries, we propose a framework for such research in Eastern Europe.