유럽학과 3 학년 박가영, 천근영 그리고 2 학년 박성현 학생은 2016 년 11 월 10 일(목)

에 계명대학교 인문국제학대학에서 주관한 “모의국제회의(외국어 발표, 토론 : 글로벌

인구구조의 변화-저출산・고령화 사회의 도래)”에서 유럽학과 대표단으로 참가하여

최우수상(표창장과 상금)을 받았다는 기쁜 소식을 전합니다.

주제는 “Successful Ageing and Low Birthrate Policies in Europe”(유럽 주요

국들의 성공적인 고령화 저출산 극복정책)으로써 유럽의 고령화, 저출산 대책을

분석하고 나아가 한국사회에 유용한 시사점을 모색하고 있습니다.

Presently, the population structure of Europe is changing. There are some common population

concerns in Europe, such as an ageing population and a low birth rate. Ageing is a natural result of

advances in healthcare and medicine caused by industrialization, urbanization and modernization as

well as improved living standards and the extension of the average lifespan is caused by improved

nutrition, safety, and hygienic environments. People, also want to live longer and most advanced

countries have longer than average life expectancy. Nonetheless, the reason why this pattern is

considered as a social problem is that ageing and low birth rates are occurring at the same time. If this

situation continues, it can hold back the economy as the economically active population is reduced. It

can also give rise to budget deficits and national defense problems. According to Eurostat, there was

an overall 2.1% increase of the population ratio of those who are aged 65 years and over. On the other

hand, the population ratio for those who are aged under 15 years reduced by 1%. There are some

slight differences depending on nations, but generally, birthrates exploded with the ‘Baby boom’

generation with those born between 1955 and 1960. This will, in turn, lead to a ‘senior bomb’ from

2010 to 2030.

Lately, the German central bank suggested extending the retirement age, as a countermeasure

against increasing life expectancy and population ageing. There were mass protests and strikes in

France as the French parliament passed a reform bill about the extension of the retirement age.

Sweden, also, has a welfare system for senior citizens. At first, if an employer saved 14% of their pay,

the government would give 15 years average earnings as a pension plan. However, the rapid ageing

and a slowdown in economic growth aggravated the financial situation. Thus, the government

abolished basic pensions for most senior citizens. Only those senior citizens who cannot survive by

their own means can get a pension. They changed the NDC (National Defined Contribution) system

to pay out pensions that reflect the growth rate of interest rates and life expectancy instead of deciding

the period of a pension calculated just 15 years before the retirement age, when income is high. In the

case of Northern Europe, they support pensioners not only economically, but socially also through

various enforced systems. In Stockholm, Sweden, they inject 8 billion euro a year into the welfare of

senior citizens - which is a seventh of the country’s annual budget. They don’t just inject budget and

manpower. They provide customized services by developing various welfare policies. A typical

service is ‘Elderly Care’. This service dispatches a daily helper who helps with the housework like

cleaning or laundry. If you join this service, a social worker will care for you and you can contact the

person in charge in real time. In the past, senior citizens had to go to nursing homes in their old age,

this mandatory law left people with bad tastes in their mouths. So they offer various types of welfare

services.

France, which is the most successful European country in resolving low birthrates, had problems

about early aging and low birthrates from 1970 to1980. However, from the end of the 1990’s, they

showed a significant rise in births because of policies to promote childbirth. France is currently called

“champion of the fertility”. It has the highest fertility rates in Europe. France has tried to increase the

population through an open-door immigration policy and a tax incentive for extended families. Not

only that, the PACS (Pacte Civil de Solidarité) was legalized to ensure legal rights for cohabiting

couples in 1999. If you register on PACS, you can pay the same tax as a married couple. Also when

you have a baby or your partner doesn’t have a job, you only have to pay half tax. If only one person

in the couple is registered on the social-security system, the other person is eligible for benefits also.

Ensuring the legal rights of cohabiting couples, has naturally raised birth rates due to the abolition of

discrimination about children born out of wedlock. From the end of the 1990’s starting with the

PACS, the birthrate of France began to show a marked increase and rose steadily. Therefore, this

policy has had a positive effect on improving birthrates. In Sweden, there has not only been higher

birth rates, but also 72% of women now participate in economic activities. The key point of successful

fertility policies is the whole governmental effort regarding vacation based on gender equality and

fairly well tuned childcare services. Sweden believes that infant caring facilities are very necessary in

order to promote childbirth and the use of female workers. A double-income family has priority

access to public childcare facilities. Also, they can be assured of part time or full time child care

facilities.

These successful demographic policies of Europe have some common goals. The first is aimed to

make a sustainable welfare state. They clarify the welfare delivery system and the responsibilities for

subjects and secure proper incomes in relation to size of expenditure. Also, they implement their

policies based on a national consensus. To be a welfare recipient, people understand that they have a

duty and should find a middle ground.

The second thing is that in promoting childbirth and supporting childcare they recognize that

financial aid is important, but having a practical support system in place is more important They

recognize various types of family, supporting compatibility with work and family, to support female

participation in society Germany, France and Sweden have shown that authentic birth encouragement

policies are necessary systems and vital for increasing birthrates, tackling concerns of an ageing

society and supporting more women in the workplace. .It may, for Korea, which also has some of

these population concerns, be good to look at the policies of Europe, to learn from them, to maybe

implement them, so that our society can benefit, both socially and economically. Thank you for your

attention.

유럽학과 대표단 좌로부터 박가영, 천근영, 박성현