scholarly journals Pathways to Retirement in Taiwan: Do Ethnicity and Cohort Matter?

Author(s):  
Fang-Yi Huang ◽  
Monika Ardelt

Studies about retirement often neglect ethnic identity. This research utilized the “Taiwan Longitudinal Study in Aging” data from 1989 to 1996 when political and social changes in the country occurred to examine the influence of ethnicity (dominant Mainlanders versus Southern Min, Hakka, and various indigenous people) on Taiwanese men’s working status at age 60 and above. We asked three questions: (1) Are Mainlanders more likely to retire earlier than non-Mainlanders? (2) Does working in the public versus the private sector affect the age of retirement and does this differ by ethnicity? (3)What factors determine retirement ages of two cohorts? Using chi-square and t-tests, results of a comparison of two cohorts (n = 1254 and n = 526 for the 1989 and 1996 cohorts, respectively) showed that being a Mainlander, being unmarried, older age, self-reported poor health, and functional limitation were associated with a higher likelihood of earlier retirement. In logistic regression models, public sector work mediated and moderated the effect of ethnicity on the likelihood of earlier retirement only in the older cohort, where Mainlander public sector workers had the greatest likelihood of earlier retirement, indicating that the incentive structure of public pensions contributes to earlier retirement. The results are consistent with cumulative advantage theory. To delay the retirement age for public sector workers, policymakers could reduce public pension incentives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S733-S734
Author(s):  
Fang-Yi Huang ◽  
Min Li

Abstract Studies about retirement often neglect ethnic identity. Yet, racial and ethnic inequality plays an important role in retirement decisions. For instance, minorities are less likely to continue working in old age beyond the normal retirement age because of some individual factors such as poor or fair health, cognitive impairment, functional limitation (Green, 2005; Ghilarducci & Moore, 2015; Mudrazija, 2010), physical limitations (Radl, 2014; Solem et al., 2016; Pienta & Hayward, 2002), retirement benefit and eligibility of pension (Radl, 2014; Honig, 1996). This research examined the influence of ethnicity on whether working for people aged above 60 in Taiwan. In addition to testing the pathways to retirement, we scrutinized how occupational sector mediates the likelihood of ethnic effect on retirement. After comparing two cohorts from the dataset “Taiwan Longitudinal Study in Aging”, we found that working in public sector, white-collar workers, being a Mainlander, being non-married, higher education, self-reported bad health and functional limitation are all associated with the higher likelihood of retirement. Finding suggested that the incentive structure of the public pension for public sector workers, who are mostly Mainlanders, could contribute to the higher likelihood of retirement. However, the magnitude of mediator is much larger for the older cohort than the younger cohort. The study not only could benefit cumulative advantage approach by analyzing East Asia data but also bring policy implication, that retirement policy makers should reduce public pension incentive for public sector workers to delay the retirement age.



2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (S1) ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
Elain Harwood

H. T. Cadbury-Brown's architecture in the public sector in Britain is placed in the context of his background and the work of his contemporaries.



2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-45
Author(s):  
Dimitra Petrakaki

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of e-government for horizontal/social accountability (to citizens) by looking into its shifting location. Its main purpose is to show how the introduction of information and communication technology in the public sector changes how public sector work is organised, shifting the traditional sources of accountability and to discuss the implications of those changes. Design/methodology/approach The study comes from desk-based research that brings together the literature on electronic government and accountability studies and situates them in the context of a bureaucratic public sector. Findings It shows that e-government entails digitalization of public sector work by restructuring work, re-organising public information and knowledge and re-orientating officials-citizens relation. It argues that in the e-government era accountability is inscribed in the technology and its embodied standards; is a horizontal technological relation that renders officials accountable to the handling of digital interfaces; and renders citizens co- producers of digital information responsible for bringing the public to account. The paper shows that these changes do not necessarily bring better or worse accountability results but change the sources of accountability bringing shifts in its locations, thereby rendering it more precarious. The paper ends by discussing the implications of digital accountability for good public administration. Originality/value With the unprecedented level of attention currently being paid to “digital government” at the moment, this is a timely paper that seeks to address the accountability implications of these shifts. The study offers a practice-based, relational definition of accountability and a Weberian account of bureaucratic government, followed by an exploration of ways in which this is being challenged or replaced with a new informatisation enabled/supported by new “technologies of accountability”.



Author(s):  
Martin D. Carrigan

Developing creative ways to motivate unionized public sector employees is a growing concern.  The concept of motivation within the public sector work place is something that is generally understood but unfortunately not often practiced.  This paper looks deeper at the perception that public sector unions receive overly generous compensation and pension plans while their members deliver substandard performance.



2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Cohen ◽  
Joanne Duberley ◽  
Pete Smith

This article tells the story of Pete, a welfare rights adviser who worked his way up to be Assistant Director of Social Services in a Midlands local authority. Pete joined the public sector with a sense of calling and a belief that local government could create positive social change. Over the next 25 years, however, Pete’s calling was increasingly challenged as his job and the context in which he worked were transformed. This article focuses on the ways in which Pete navigated the system in an attempt to ‘keep the faith’, before eventually taking early retirement.





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