On April 10th, the Institute of European Studies (IES) at UC Berkeley hosted Professor Melanie Hack, a faculty member at the University of Bergen who earned her PhD from the University of Oslo. The in-person event took place at the Institute and drew an audience of four attendees.
Hack opened her lecture by outlining the growing urgency of elder care policy in light of demographic changes across Europe, particularly in Norway. A central focus of her presentation was the role of informal care, defined as unpaid care provided by family members. Hack emphasized that recognizing and supporting informal caregivers is essential—not only for the well-being of elderly individuals but also for the long-term sustainability of the welfare state. In Norway, declining fertility rates combined with an aging population have increasingly shifted the burden of elder care onto family members.
To address these pressures, the Norwegian government has promoted policies that encourage older individuals to remain in the workforce and live independently in their homes for as long as possible. However, this demographic shift raises a critical question: can adult children manage the growing demands of elder care while maintaining their own careers?
Hack highlighted two significant demographic trends to illustrate this challenge. First, the age dependency ratio—the ratio of working-age individuals to retirees—has declined from 4.7 in 2000 and is projected to reach 2.9 by 2050. Second, the family care coefficient—the ratio between people aged 50-66 to those aged 85 and older—is also decreasing. These changes suggest that by 2040, current legal frameworks for elder care may become unsustainable without substantial policy reform.
She went on to analyse Norway’s current legal instruments related to elder care, including unpaid leave provisions under Chapter 12 of the Working Environment Act and care benefits for end-of-life care under the National Insurance Act. Notably, Hack observed that Norway’s generous sick leave policy is often used informally for elder care, despite not being designed for that purpose.
The lecture also explored relevant international legal frameworks that support family caregivers, such as Article 27 of the Revised European Social Charter, ILO Convention 156, and the EU’s new Work-Life Balance Directive. The latter introduces key mechanisms including flexible working arrangements, expanded parental leave rights, and designated carers’ leave. However, Hack pointed out unresolved issues, particularly around eligibility and the lack of mandatory paid leave provisions.
In conclusion, Hack posed a provocative question: should caregiving be recognised as a constitutional right? She referenced proposals from German legal scholars advocating for a “care time budget”—a system allowing workers to draw from a lifelong allocation of care leave. Implementing such a model would require integrating a variety of legal and social policy tools to effectively address the mounting pressures of elder care in an aging European society.