EH.N: CfP: XVth World Economic History Congress, Panel on Ageing, Old-age Policies, and the Rise of the Welfare State

[Lionel Kesztenbaum]

Call for papers -- XVth World Economic History Congress
Utrecht, Netherlands, 3-7 August 2009
Session on Ageing, Old-age Policies, and the Rise of the Welfare State

Aim of the Session

Despite a growing interest in the living conditions of old people in the 
past, the consequences of the ageing process remains little known. 
Economic historians have made only modest efforts to study how 
individuals and society cope with the rising share of old persons that 
occurs since the 19th century, first in Europe and then spreading over 
the world as the demographic transition occurs. Contributions to this 
session will analyze various aspects of old persons' situation: their 
means and standards of living; their pension plans and their evolution; the way they use public assistance or private charity; and the extent of the family support they may count on.

Moreover, the making of and the rise of old-age benefits is not an 
isolated phenomenon. It can clearly be linked with the emergence of the 
welfare state; as national welfare systems overcome both local charity 
and private organizations. Thus, transformations of old-age policies 
must be inserted into the more general framework of growing public spending.
While focusing on ageing and old-age assistance on the long run, this 
session intends to replace it in a broader structure of changing public 
policies. It will consider the ageing process from different angles: 
ways of living for old people, the relationship between the timing of 
the ageing process and the size and scope of pension schemes, the 
competition between local and national assistance, and the rivalry 
between groups –- especially age groups -- for the control of public 
spending; whether using micro or macro approaches.

Organizers:
Jérôme Bourdieu (INRA-LEA)
Lionel Kesztenbaum (INED)
Gilles Postel-Vinay (INRA-LEA and EHESS)

Application:
The session will contain 8 to 10 papers. However, 5 papers were already 
selected during the pre-session process. So this open call aims at 
recruiting 3 to 5 more papers. Applicants are requested to provide a 
short resume containing their institutional affiliation(s) and a list of 
the two or three more significant publications on the subject, and an 
extended abstract (no less than two pages) or a complete paper, if 
available. Everything must be sent to lionel.kesztenbaum at ined.fr before 
the deadline.

The submission deadline is April 1, 2009. Acceptance decisions will be 
communicated soon afterward. We particularly encourage graduate 
students to apply.

Papers will be circulated in advance, so we assume all papers would be 
complete on May, 31 2009.

IEHA provides grants for student from developing countries; deadline is 
February, 1 2009:
http://www.wehc2009.org/grants.asp

Time schedule:
1 April 2009 - deadline for extended abstract to organizers
15 April 2009 - confirmation of acceptance of participation by session 
organizers
31 May 2009 - deadline for IEHA: names of participants, papers and 
abstracts.
3-7 August 2009 - WEHC conference in Utrecht

For more information on the World Economic History Congress, see:
http://www.wehc2009.org/default.asp