‘Since I retired, I can take things as they come. For example, the laundry’: gender, class and freedom in retirement in Switzerland

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 1556-1580 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARION REPETTI ◽  
TONI CALASANTI

ABSTRACTPopulation ageing has led many countries to be concerned about the ‘economic burden’ of elders, and several have adopted the active ageing paradigm to reform policy. However, gender differences that moderate the effect of active ageing have been little considered. As in other nations in the European Union, Swiss federal authorities use the active ageing paradigm to reshape ageing policies, including the provision of incentives to seniors to remain in the labour market. At the same time, many recent and proposed changes draw on the assumption of gender equality, even though actual parity has not yet been demonstrated. We know little about how gender shapes retirement in Switzerland, other than in relation to financial inequality between women and men. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with Swiss retirees (N = 15) shows how men and women describe this time of life differently. All respondents characterised retirement as a time of freedom; but the meaning of such freedom diverged for men and women, reflecting the gender division of labour, which is further shaped by class. We discuss the implications of this difference for the gendered consequences of active ageing policies.

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Klimczuk

The approach to analysing population ageing and its impacts on the economy has evolved in recent years. There is increasing interest in the development and use of products and services related to gerontechnology as well as other social innovations that may be considered as central parts of the ‘‘silver economy.’’ However, the concept of silver economy is still being formed and requires detailed research. This article proposes a typology of models of the silver economy in the European Union (EU) at the national and regional levels. This typology was created by comparing the Active Ageing Index to the typology of varieties and cultures of capitalism and typology of the welfare states. Practical recommendations for institutions of the EU and directions for further research are discussed.


Economies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Miguel Blanco ◽  
Lydia Bares ◽  
Oksana Hrynevych ◽  
Marcos Ferasso

Gender equality has been one of the goals of the European Union since 1957. Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union authorizes the European Parliament and the Council to adopt all those measures that guarantee the application of the principle of equality opportunities and equal treatment for men and women in employment and occupation matters. The main goal of this article was to determine whether the use of European Funds by Eurozone countries has made it possible to reduce labor differences in gender matters. To this end, the efficiency levels of the Funds are analyzed in two different periods, 2007 to 2013 and 2014 to 2020. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a methodology frequently used by researchers in efficiency analyses, was applied. Among the main conclusions obtained are that the efficiency levels from the period 2014 to 2020 have been higher than that obtained in the previous period, but there are significant and persistent differences over time in the levels of gender efficiency between the different countries of the Eurozone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Fontan ◽  
Sabine Saurugger

This article analyses the causal factors underlying the formation of French preferences during the Eurozone crisis solving process (2008–2017). Going beyond the clear distinction between national preference formation and interstate bargaining of liberal intergovernmentalism, this article combines new intergovernmentalism, political economy and feedback loops to study the horizontal linkages between different actors included in the process of domestic preference formation. Based on the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) Choices dataset, which includes semi-structured interviews conducted with French policy-makers involved in the European Union negotiations at the highest level, we will concentrate on French preference formation in four negotiations at the European Union level: the 3 May 2010 agreement on bilateral loans to Greece, the initial capitalisation amount of the European Stability Mechanism, the negotiations on the legal nature of the ‘debt-brake’ included in the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance and the reverse qualified majority voting procedure. The article shows that confidential and restricted administrative networks played a central role in reducing the uncertainty stemming from the fragile financial positions of the hypertrophied domestic banking system. At the same time, French negotiators find themselves between a rock and a hard place during negotiations at the European Union level, not crossing the red line fixed by Germany, on the one hand, and ensuring that policy solutions are compatible with governmental political stance and domestic economic interests, on the other hand. Contrary to recent research pointing out to the increasing influence of domestic public opinion on national preference formation, however, feedback loops between the outcome of the crisis solving process and French politics and policies had very little impact.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-244
Author(s):  
João Serrado ◽  
Ruben Filipe Pereira ◽  
Miguel Mira da Silva ◽  
Isaías Scalabrin Bianchi

Purpose Data can nowadays be seen as the main asset of organizations and data leaks have a considerable impact on the organization’s image, revenues and possible consequences to the affected clients. One of the most critical industries is the bank. Information security frameworks (ISF) have been created to assist organizations and other frameworks evolved to update these domain practices. Recently, the European Union decided to create the general data protection regulation (GDPR), applicable to all organizations dealing with personal data of citizens residing in the European Union. Although considered a general regulation, GDPR implementation needs to align with some industries’ laws and policies. Especially in the Bank industry. How these ISF can assist the implementation of GDPR is not clear. Design/methodology/approach The design science research process was followed and semi-structured interviews performed. Findings A list of practices to assist the bank industry in GDPR implementation is provided. How each practice map with assessed ISF and GDPR requirements is also presented. Research limitations/implications As GDPR is a relatively recent subject, it is hard to find experts in the area. It is more difficult if the authors intend to find experienced people in the GDPR and bank industry. That is one of the main reasons this study does not include more interviews. Originality/value This research provides a novel artefact to the body of knowledge. The proposed artefact lists which ISF practices banks should implement to comply with GDPR. By doing it the artefact provides a centralized view about which ISF frameworks (or part of them) could be implemented to help banks comply with GDPR.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1354-1376
Author(s):  
Mirela Cristea ◽  
Graţiela Georgiana Noja ◽  
Daniela Emanuela Dănăcică ◽  
Petru Ştefea

Author(s):  
Sérgio Leal ◽  
Teresa Paiva ◽  
Luísa Cagica Carvalho ◽  
Ilda Figueiredo ◽  
Dana T. Redford

The Youth Start – Entrepreneurial Challenges Project (USTART), is a project co-funded by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, that promotes practical experiential learning programmes at the compulsory school level by developing an innovative, transferable, and scalable programme through the collaboration of high-level public authorities of Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Slovenia. The USTART programme is designed to be flexible in its application and has intensive and extensive versions making it possible for teachers in all types of schools and from various subjects to use USTART modules in their teaching. This chapter describes the process of implementation of the project in Portugal and the qualitative assessment (through semi-structured interviews) made that was one of the validations supports of the programme. Through USTART it was possible to understand the real difficulties and barriers that teachers and schools have when implementing different methods and programmes, and the good results of the project.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (8) ◽  
pp. 1384-1391
Author(s):  
Marvin Formosa ◽  
Charles Scerri

Abstract Malta has been at the forefront in aging policy and healthy aging development. It was the first country to highlight the need of a United Nations-led international action plan aimed at meeting the needs of an emerging global aging population. Through a number of initiatives, Malta has managed to put aging as a top priority on its national policy agenda. The country boasts of the longest life span spent in good health among all European Union countries with its inhabitants expected to live a significant portion of their life free of disability. Malta’s ranking in the Active Ageing Index experienced consistent improvements in the past decade, registering the sharpest progress in the European Union. In response to an increase in individuals with dementia, Malta was also among the first countries to adopt a national strategic policy for dementia. Notwithstanding such significant progress, Malta still lags behind in developing policy directions addressing gender inequalities and minority groups’ interests among its older population. Similar to other Southern European countries, Malta’s accelerated rate of population aging raises concerns with regard to economic growth, sustainability of effective health care and pension systems, and the well-being of older persons. Gender will also feature prominently in the future planning of long-term care policy as older women are projected to increase threefold in the foreseeable years with the high risk of poverty associated with older single and widowed women, implying that a few would be able to opt for private care.


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