On how different combinations of conditions produce different early exit/retirement outcomes: a qualitative (case-oriented) comparison of Denmark and Sweden

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Per H. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Employment Rate ◽  
Work Patterns ◽  
Early Exit ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Involuntary Retirement ◽  
High Employment ◽  
Employment Rates

Abstract Denmark and Sweden are rather similar in most societal dimensions, but differ markedly with regard to the employment rate among older workers, which in 2015 was 65 per cent in Denmark and 75 per cent in Sweden. Using a qualitative (or case-oriented) comparative approach, this article seeks to identify configurations or combinations of conditions that have produced these differences in older workers’ work patterns. From an inter-disciplinary perspective, the article draws on the conceptual framework of push (e.g. involuntary retirement due to poor health), pull (e.g. voluntary retirement because of generous welfare benefits), jump (e.g. exit due to a search for life conditions that are more fulfilling than paid work), stay (e.g. older workers remain voluntarily in the labour market because work is fulfilling and well paid) and stuck (e.g. older workers remain involuntarily in the labour market because they cannot afford to retire). Findings are that low employment rates in Denmark are an outcome of a relatively strong combination of push–pull–jump factors, while Sweden, with its high employment rate, exhibits a combination of stay–stuck conditions.

scholarly journals German pension and labour market reforms and the potential rise of social inequality amongst older workers and pensioners

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-117
Author(s):  
Moritz Heß ◽  
◽  
Jürgen Bauknecht ◽  
Gerhard Naegele ◽  
Philipp Stiemke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Strong Increase ◽  
Market Reforms ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Employment Rate ◽  
Skilled Labour ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Labour Market Reforms

Policymakers in all European countries have implemented reforms aimed at delaying retirement and extending working lives mainly to mitigate financial pressure on public pay-asyou-go pension systems and to increase the supply of skilled labour. This could be a reason for an increase of older workers’ labour force participation. This increase was particularly strong in Germany. In the paper at hand, we will answer two research questions: i) how can this steep increase in German older workers’ employment rate be explained? Furthermore, and related to this: ii) have policies for longer working lives fostered inequality? We base our analysis on an extensive literature review and descriptive data analysis. We conclude that the rise of the employment rate of older workers in Germany has several causes. First, the German labour market has performed very well, so that the policy debate has shifted from unemployment to a lack of (skilled) labour. Second, there is a strong increase of female labour market participation. Third, due to cohort effects, today’s older workers are healthier and better skilled than their predecessors. Finally, the pension and labour market reforms aimed at delaying retirement had an effect. However, we also find that lowskilled and low-income workers increasingly have to delay their retirement due to financial reasons. It seems that social inequalities in the retirement transition are increasing in Germany.

Introduction: Themed section on Age, Employment and Policy

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Platman ◽  
Philip Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Early Retirement ◽  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Early Exit ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
The Usa

Older workers have moved up the policy agenda within the industrialised nations. In the 1980s and first half of the 1990s, policy-making in much of the European Union emphasised the virtues of early retirement, partly as a response to high levels of unemployment. Since the late 1990s, there has been an increasing emphasis on overcoming age barriers in the labour market and on extending working life. This has been driven by concerns over ageing and shrinking labour forces, the sustainability of public pension systems, evidence of age discrimination in the labour market and the potential influence of the ‘grey’ voter. By contrast in the USA, the pronounced trend towards ‘early exit’ which has characterised Europe never existed. This is even more the case in Japan.

scholarly journals Effects of Generational Competition and Substitution on Late Labour Participation and Labour Market Exit from a Multilevel Perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henriette Engelhardt ◽  
Christopher Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Cohort Size ◽  
Market Participation ◽  
Early Exit ◽  
Market Structures ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Labour Market Participation ◽  
Negative Effect

In this paper, we investigate the effects of demographic, economic and labour market structures on labour market participation and on the transition to inactivity (exit) for older males in eleven European countries. Theoretically, our analysis is guided by considerations of intragenerational competition and intergenerational substitution. Following Easterlin’s hypothesis that intragenerational competition rises with cohort size, we assume a negative effect of cohort size on labour market participation and a positive effect on early exit from the labour market. Taking into account that different cohorts are substitutes at least to a certain extent, we assume that the probability of an early exit will be reduced by a high intergenerational exchange ratio in favour of older workers. Thus, labour market participation is influenced by the populations’ age structure both when entering the labour force and during the career. Moreover, low shares of graduates in older cohorts are expected to reduce older workers’ chances of labour market participation. In addition to demographic structures, general economic conditions, such as per capita GDP and its development over time, act both to further and to hamper the employment of older workers. Additionally, labour market structures, such as unemployment rates, the extent of part-time work or the amount of service jobs influence individual participation and the transition to inactivity. To test these hypotheses, we use merged data from the first two waves of SHARE and macro-level indicators from Eurostat. We estimate a two-level random-intercept logit model which allows us to determine the share of variance in international late careers that can be attributed to country-specific factors and can quantify the relative impact of specific socio-demographic and socio-economic backgrounds. Our results imply that cross-national variance in labour market participation is mainly driven by the instance of long-term unemployment and the share of highly-educated older men. While our analyses reveal some evidence of intragenerational competition, we do not find evidence of intergenerational competition forcing early exit or decreasing participation.

Introduction Themed Section: What do Older Workers Want?

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Loretto ◽  
Sarah Vickerstaff ◽  
Phil White
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
European Policy ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Labour Market Participation ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Employment Decline

Across the industrialised nations, the labour market participation of older workers (i.e. those aged 50 and over) continues to attract considerable attention, as the numbers in employment decline and those who are inactive or retired increase (for a 21-country review see OECD, 2006). Against a background of concern over the economic and social implications of low employment rates among the over-50s, much public policy has come to focus on extending the average working life by encouraging people to work for longer and to delay retirement (see, for example, House of Lords, 2003; and on European policy, von Nordeim, 2004).

Assessing Anti-ageism Routes to Older Worker Re-engagement

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Early Exit ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Dramatic Decline ◽  
Labour Market Participation ◽  
Effective Policy

Measures that challenge ageism in employment are among the most prominent policy approaches towards reversing the dramatic decline over the last two decades in the labour market participation of older workers in developed economies. In Britain, such measures have evolved through three related phases: the `business case' approach; equality routes, incorporating equal opportunities and diversity policies; and progress towards anti-age discrimination legislation. Discriminatory attitudes displayed by employers have been overemphasized in explaining early exit from the labour market. Paradoxically, targeting such prejudice and ignorance through the business case approach has narrowed the scope for challenging more covert forms of ageism in employment. Nor is age easily incorporated into equal opportunities and diversity agendas in effective ways. Moreover, legislation will need to depart significantly from the principles underlying voluntary approaches if it is to be successful. The ambiguity and fluidity of the ageism concept also allow scope for opportunistic responses on the part of labour market actors that can be detrimental to the interests of older workers, and preoccupation with ageism may therefore act to impede progress towards more targeted, co-ordinated and effective policy responses.

scholarly journals Older Workers in Changing Social Policy Patterns

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Burnay
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Early Retirement ◽  
Employment Rate ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Widespread Phenomenon ◽  
The Government ◽  
Relevant Factors

Compared to other European countries, the employment rate of older workers in Belgium is rather low. This paper argues that one of the most relevant factors underlying the problems of this low employment rate in Belgium is the social policies directed at older workers. Indeed, when unemployment became a widespread phenomenon in the1970s and 80s, early-retirement schemes were designed to alleviate the financial implications on an aging workforce. The government encouraged anyone over 50 to leave the labour market through early retirement schemes, unemployment payment programs, medical retirement, and career breaks. These practises were based on a wide consensus of government, business, and workers.However, for some years now, international organizations have been concerned about the viability of pension systems and their ability to achieve their objectives. In recent years, different factors have led policy makers to rethink this policy. But changing the trend and keeping people on the job has proven more difficult than foreseen. The transformations of public policies begun at the dawn of the 21st century radically changed the balance between the state, workers, and employers, who had all previously seen early retirement as favourable. This paper also tries to show how early retirement is not simply a desire to escape, but can also be explained as an aggression against the person by the labour market. Leaving professional life early thus seems more to be a case of necessity, in fact not a choice at all, but an obligation, or even a sacrifice, and must be seen in the perspective of professional duties and their evolution.

scholarly journals Causes and consequences of low economic activity of older people in Serbia - causes and consequences

2018 ◽  
pp. 573-584
Author(s):  
Biljana Radivojevic ◽  
Biljana Jovanovic-Gavrilovic
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Early Exit ◽  
Demographic Aging ◽  
Low Activity

Demographic aging, as well as the situation on the Serbian labour market, have affected the changes in the age structure of the workforce. The share of active persons older than 50 years in the total labour force has increased, and the share of young people has fallen. In 2017, 27.2% of total active people are in the age group 50-64. Despite the positive trends in the period 2012-2017, the indicators of economic activity and employment of the population in these age groups in Serbia are lower, compared to the rates for the EU countries. Low activity and employment of the older people is the result of leaving the workforce before the retirement age. The poor employment opportunities for older workers meant an early exit from the workforce and their transition to inactivity. The reasons for early exit from the workforce are illness or disability too. Out of the total number of pensioners in Serbia in 2017, 17.1% were disability pensioners. Chronic non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of illness, disability and premature death (tumors and diseases of the bloodstream). In addition to the economic consequences, the low activity of the older population has numerous social consequences. Abandoning work causes marginalization and often leads to complete exclusion from social life. Therefore, stimulating the economic activity of the elderly is one of the more important goals of national policies. It implies the postponement of the retirement decision and the extension of work. Higher employment among the elderly contributes to a better balance between the active and inactive elderly population. Lifelong learning and professional development is a way to improve the position of the elderly in the labour market and increase their employment.

scholarly journals Older workers imagining retirement: the collapse of agency, or freedom at last?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Anne Skevik Grødem ◽  
Ragni Hege Kitterød
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Social Meaning ◽  
Active Engagement ◽  
Work Patterns ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Retirement Decisions ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract Images of what retirement is and ought to be are changing. Older workers are being encouraged to work for longer, at the same time, older adults increasingly voice expectations of a ‘third age’ of active engagement and new life prospects. In this article, we draw on the literature on older workers’ work patterns and retirement transitions (noting push/pull/stay/stuck/jump factors), and on scholarship on the changing social meaning of old age, most importantly the notions of a ‘third’ and ‘fourth’ age. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with 28 employees in the private sector in Norway, aged between 55 and 66 years. Based on the interviews, we propose three ideal-typical approaches to the work–retirement transition: ‘the logic of deadline’, ‘the logic of negotiation’ and ‘the logic of averting retirement’. The ideal-types are defined by the degree to which informants assume agency in the workplace, their orientation towards work versus retirement and the degree to which they expect to exercise agency in retirement. We emphasise how retirement decisions are informed by notions of the meaning of ageing, while also embedded in relationships with employers and partners.

scholarly journals Skilled Migrants in the Swedish Labour Market: An Analysis of Employment, Income and Occupational Status

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3428
Author(s):  
Nahikari Irastorza ◽  
Pieter Bevelander
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Occupational Status ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Skilled Immigrants ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Highly Skilled Migrants ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Employment Rates

In a globalised world with an increasing division of labour, the competition for highly skilled individuals—regardless of their origin—is growing, as is the value of such individuals for national economies. Yet the majority of studies analysing the economic integration of immigrants shows that those who are highly skilled also have substantial hurdles to overcome: their employment rates and salaries are lower and they face a higher education-to-occupation mismatch compared to highly skilled natives. This paper contributes to the paucity of studies on the employment patterns of highly skilled immigrants to Sweden by providing an overview of the socio-demographic characteristics, labour-market participation and occupational mobility of highly educated migrants in Sweden. Based on a statistical analysis of register data, we compare their employment rates, salaries and occupational skill level and mobility to those of immigrants with lower education and with natives. The descriptive analysis of the data shows that, while highly skilled immigrants perform better than those with a lower educational level, they never catch up with their native counterparts. Our regression analyses confirm these patterns for highly skilled migrants. Furthermore, we find that reasons for migration matter for highly skilled migrants’ employment outcomes, with labour migrants having better employment rates, income and qualification-matched employment than family reunion migrants and refugees.

Are Older Workers Disadvantaged in the Hong Kong Labour Market?

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lok Sang Ho ◽  
Xiang Dong Wei ◽  
Jan P. Voon
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers
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