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.

Vervroegde uittreding in België: een ommekeer in zicht?

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Goyvaerts
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
International Research ◽  
Early Retirement ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Early Labour ◽  
The Social ◽  
Labour Participation ◽  
Career Needs

Early retirement in Belgium: is change at hand? Early retirement in Belgium: is change at hand? Labour participation in Belgium of workers older than 50 years is very low in comparison with those in other European countries. In this article explanations for this low score are investigated and areas of reform are explored. Thereby, inspiration is drawn from international research and foreign reforms. The early labour market exit in Belgium is attributed to a mixture of factors, i.c.: 1) the generosity of available early retirement programs, 2) the high labour cost for older workers, 3) the lack of training investments in older workers, and 4) the social acceptance of policies oriented towards early retirement. A policy that wants to extend the end of career, needs to intervene in these areas. In this article it is argued that Belgian policy takes measures in the areas mentioned, though the effects of the measures taken probably will remain restricted. This doubt concerning the policy effectiveness is based on the observation that the measures mainly remain restricted to the margins of the existing rules, whereas more fundamental reforms are needed. The restriction of the reforms is related to trade union resistance to give up vested practices and interests.

scholarly journals Persons of Pre-Retirement Age in the Labour Market: Employment Problems and Support Measures

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1178-1192
Author(s):  
Natalya A. Chernykh ◽  
Anna N. Tarasova ◽  
Andrey E. Syrchin
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Pension Reform ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Support Measures ◽  
Employment Sector ◽  
The Government

The problem of age discrimination in the labour sector has become even more relevant, as the increase in the retirement age and the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia reinforce ageism. The article aims to assess the incidence of age discrimination in the labour market of the Sverdlovsk Region and examine employers’ behaviour towards people nearing retirement. The mixed methodology includes quantitative (analysis of statistics, questionnaire survey, content analysis) and qualitative (in-depth interviews with employers) research methods. While in the 1990s age discrimination was evident and expressed in the exclusion of older workers from the employment sector, now age discrimination is latent and has different manifestations. The results showed that people aged over 45 have less job opportunities in the labour market. Thus, most of them choose to maintain employment. This strategy, however, does not protect against other discriminatory practices such as displacement to less paid positions, reduced pay rate, etc. This situation leads to the decrease in the average wage of workers aged 50-55 by approximately 25%. We can conclude that employers did not change their behaviour and continue using discriminatory practices to maximise the return on human capital, shifting the risks of pension reform to employees. The government is trying to smooth over the differences between the effectiveness of the regional economic system, focused on maximising the use of regional human resources, and the effectiveness of individual organisations by protecting labour rights and promoting the employment of people nearing retirement. However, the government support measures mainly focus on training or retraining of people aged over 50, while employers lack economic incentives to reconsider their attitude towards older workers. Thus, we recommend developing governmental mechanisms for encouraging employers to change their personnel policy concerning employees aged over 50.

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.

The Puzzle of Retirement and Early Retirement

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Harper ◽  
Peter Laslett
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Early Retirement ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Healthy Life ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Changing Attitudes

This chapter focuses on early retirement, explaining why at a time of increasing longevity, and in particular healthy and active longevity, there is a continual withdrawal from the labour force of men and women who have not yet reached the formal age of retirement. While the expectation of a healthy life has been steadily growing, between 1950 and 1995 the estimated average age in the UK of the transition from economic employment to economic inactivity by older workers fell from 67.2 to 62.7 years for men and from 63.9 to 59.7 years for women. There are three main explanations for this change. First, economists have taken the view that there exist within most national pension systems incentives to retire. Second, sociologists argued that changes within the workplace and labour market have forced employees to withdraw. Finally, there are the changing attitudes of the workers and a growing internalisation of retirement as an extended period of funded leisure and consumption.

scholarly journals The Netherworld between Work and Retirement

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael McGann ◽  
Helen Kimberley ◽  
Dina Bowman ◽  
Simon Biggs
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Social Gerontology ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Part Time

A major theme within social gerontology is how retirement ‘is being re-organised, if not undone’. Institutional supports for retirement are weakening, with pension ages rising in many countries. Increasing numbers of older workers are working past traditional retirement age on a part-time or self-employed basis, and a growing minority are joining the ranks of the long-term unemployed. Drawing upon narrative interviews with older Australians who are involuntarily non-employed or underemployed, this article explores how the ‘unravelling’ of retirement is experienced by a group of older workers on the periphery of the labour market. While policy makers hope that higher pension ages will lead to a longer period of working life, the risk is that older workers, especially those experiencing chronic insecurity in the labour market, will be caught in a netherworld between work and retirement.

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 Informal employment in the poor European periphery

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 387-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Pfau-Effinger
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Social Differences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
European Periphery

Purpose During the transition from socialist to post-socialist regimes, many Central and Eastern Europe societies have developed a broad sector of informal work. This development has caused substantial economic and social problems. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper aims to answer two questions regarding European countries with a relatively weak economy and welfare state: what are the differences in the social characteristics between workers in formal and informal employment? And how might they be explained? According to the main assumption, a key reason why people work in undeclared employment in such countries is that they are in particularly vulnerable positions in the labour market. This paper uses the example of Moldova. The empirical study is based on a unique survey data set from the National Statistical Office of Moldova covering formal and informal employment. Findings The findings show that, in informal employment, workers in rural areas, workers with a low level of education, young workers and older workers – in the final years of their careers and after the age of retirement – are over-represented. It seems that a significant reason why these workers are often engaged in informal employment is the lack of alternatives in the labour market, particularly in rural areas, compounded by limited social benefits from unemployment benefits and pensions. Originality/value Research about social differences between workers in formal and informal employment in the countries of the European periphery is rare. This paper makes a new contribution to the theoretical debate and research regarding work in informal employment.

scholarly journals HOW CAN THE SURGE OF SECTARIAN INTOLERANCE IN PAKISTAN BE TACKLED? BRIDGING THE WIDENING DIVIDE

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 981-985
Author(s):  
Musferah Mehfooz ◽  
Safia Parveen
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Sectarian Violence ◽  
Political Perspective ◽  
The Social ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
The Government

Problem and aim of the study: This article deals with the causes of the scary rise of sectarian Intolerance, violence, and prejudices in Pakistan. This article also investigates that how sectarian intolerance causes violence in society and what strategies should imply to curtail sectarianism from society?  Research methods: The research is qualitative, and applies the inductive and deductive methodology to the collected data. The data has been derived from the South Asian Terrorism Portal and to analyze the authenticity the author has collected the shared information from published articles, researches, and government official website that provide the statistics about violence and terrorism. Main findings: The study concludes by arguing the dire need for the promulgation and dissemination of inclusive thoughts for attaining a tolerant society free from sectarian intolerance because the implications of sectarian violence are a great threat to the peace process in the country. Application of the study: This study has significant implications from both a theoretical and a realistic perspective. The present study would be useful for policy-makers, to curtail the sectarianism in State. Therefore, the banning of sectarian speeches, sectarian literature, has been strongly suggested. The government should place a moratorium on the printing of sectarian literature for sectarian unity. The study also has tried to make realize to the state actors, including security forces and intelligence agencies, to avoid blame foreign involvement in sectarian polarization and why they ignore the fault lines destabilizing Pakistan's social fabric since Pakistan's inception. Therefore, the study would doubtlessly help decrease unpleasant incidents and reduce religious fanaticism. Originality and novelty of the study: This is the fact that in the existing literature the least attention has been given to sectarianism in Pakistan. The present study aims to deals with the social, religious, and political aspects of sectarian violence. Therefore, this is the first study that has investigated sectarian violence by exploring the issue of sectarianism from a social, religious, and political perspective.

Af- en toename van arbeidspotentieel als beleidsthema. Leeftijdgericht arbeidsmarktbeleid in organisatie-intern perspectief

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Thijssen
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Early Retirement ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Replacement Policy ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Retirement Policy ◽  
The Impact

De- and increase of the labour force as a subject of policy. Ageing-related labour market policy from an organisational perspective. De- and increase of the labour force as a subject of policy. Ageing-related labour market policy from an organisational perspective. The Netherlands, like many other Western countries, are used to a long tradition of pension policies opting for 65 as the standard retirement age, but from the eighties of the last century a massive number of older workers retired early opening positions for younger workers: a replacement policy to cope with unemployment. This early retirement policy reduced the amount of workers available for the labour market, but the influence on the proportion of working and non-working people was not significant. That changed dramatically because of recent demographic developments. As a reaction to the increasing ageing of the population the government is taking several decisions which have to promote working longer. However, the impact at organisational level is modest, although many companies are concerned with new older worker policies. Recent research findings offer an overview of responsible causes: especially the role of the managers of older workers is very important. Reflecting on the status quo this contribution will finish with three possible scenario’s for the future: 1 the repression scenario, raising obstacles to hinder early retirement; 2 the seduction scenario, creating attractive conditions to work longer; 3 the differentiation scenario, meeting the age-related interpersonal differences in employment opportunities and restrictions.

scholarly journals Older workers and employer-provided training in the Netherlands: a vignette study

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1995-2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIA FLEISCHMANN ◽  
FERRY KOSTER
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Vignette Study ◽  
The Government ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Vignette Experiment ◽  
Exchange Relations

ABSTRACTOlder workers throughout Europe are increasingly expected to participate longer in the labour market. While training appears to increase workers’ employability, prior research indicates that employers are less prone to provide training with increasing age of the workers. In this study, we aim to provide a better understanding of what affects employers’ considerations. We conduct a vignette experiment among Dutch employers to investigate how the government and workers themselves can exert influence on employers’ willingness to provide training. Our analyses show that employers’ provision of training declines with workers’ age, and additionally reveal two mitigating mechanisms. First, government reimbursements appear to work as a buffer: when reimbursements are offered, the decline in employers’ willingness to offer training is less pronounced throughout workers’ careers. Second, workers’ interest in training has a delaying effect: when workers are interested in training, employers’ willingness to provide training remains rather stable until workers are aged about 55, and decreases only afterwards. This contrasts the constant decline with age when workers had no interest in training. Our findings emphasise that employers’ considerations cannot be understood without taking the context into account, because governments and workers can affect employers’ decisions through cost reduction and social exchange relations, respectively. More research is needed to disentangle other possible underlying mechanisms.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document