The huge increase in life expectancy observed in Southern Europe over the past few decades has raised both theoretical and practical questions. On the theoretical side, such an increase looks surprising and difficult to explain on the basis of conventional socioeconomic models since welfare states are weaker in Mediterranean Europe than in the most Northwestern countries, where mortality is often higher. Several hypotheses have been put forward. Of special relevance is the one proposed by a growing number of demographers and sociologists, who have suggested that the longevity records set by Southern European societies might be due primarily to the greater strength of family ties, which generates stronger moral obligations towards kin, resulting in the correspondingly greater importance of families and kinship networks as sources of social security. However, increased longevity is also raising highly practical issues. One question is how long the strength of cultural factors will be able to offset the persisting structural weaknesses of Southern European welfare states. On the other hand, although some indicators would induce pessimism, the possibility cannot be ruled out that Southern European patterns of elder support possess greater adaptive potential to the new scenario of the generalised retreat of the welfare state all over Europe. A still different question is whether the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, which are currently undergoing demographic transformations that are reminiscent of the ones recently experienced by Southern Europe, are likely to embrace similar coping strategies owing to a similar and partly shared cultural heritage. All these questions will be variously addressed in this chapter, but first, it is necessary to see whether there is really something special about the Mediterranean, as claimed in many quarters.

What is so special about the Mediterranean?

One hundred years ago life expectancy was markedly lower in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain than in Northwestern European countries. By the mid-20th century, as shown in Table 3.1, the gap had reduced, but Southern Europe still trailed behind the wealthier and institutionally more developed countries of the North.