The Economics of Aging


Book Description

The Economics of Aging presents results from an ongoing National Bureau of Economic Research project. Contributors consider the housing mobility and living arrangements of the elderly, their labor force participation and retirement, the economics of their health care, and their financial status. The goal of the research is to further our understanding both of the factors that determine the well-being of the elderly and of the consequences that follow from an increasingly older population with longer individual life spans. Each paper is accompanied by critical commentary.




Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers


Book Description

Mirroring a worldwide phenomenon in industrialized nations, the U.S. is experiencing a change in its demographic structure known as population aging. Concern about the aging population tends to focus on the adequacy of Medicare and Social Security, retirement of older Americans, and the need to identify policies, programs, and strategies that address the health and safety needs of older workers. Older workers differ from their younger counterparts in a variety of physical, psychological, and social factors. Evaluating the extent, causes, and effects of these factors and improving the research and data systems necessary to address the health and safety needs of older workers may significantly impact both their ability to remain in the workforce and their well being in retirement. Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers provides an image of what is currently known about the health and safety needs of older workers and the research needed to encourage social polices that guarantee older workers a meaningful share of the nation's work opportunities.




Current and Emerging Trends in Aging and Work


Book Description

This timely volume provides an up-to-date and comprehensive summary about what is known about aging and work and addresses the challenges and opportunities confronting older workers and organizations. The authors describe current and emerging topics related to work and aging adults such as working in teams, the increasing diversity of the labor force, work and caregiving, the implications of technology for an aging workforce, and health and wellness issues. The authorship is international; the authors are renowned for their respective work in the topical areas and represent a broad range of disciplines within academia, as well as offer perspectives from government and policy. Jobs, organizations, the labor market, and the workforce are experiencing dramatic change. Workers of all ages, including older workers, need to interact with the wide variety of ubiquitous technologies that are reshaping work processes, job content, work settings, communication strategies, and the delivery of training, and this book aims to update readers on the particular issues facing today’s aging adults in the workplace. The chapters’ broad and inclusive scope encompasses: Workplace aging and jobs in the 21st century The retirement income security outlook for older workers Population aging, age discrimination, and age discrimination protections Older workers and the contemporary labor market The role of aging, age diversity, and age heterogeneity within teams The intersection of family caregiving and work Current and Emerging Trends in Aging and Work is relevant to a broad audience of academic researchers, practitioners, and students in psychology, sociology, management, engineering (industrial and human factors), the health sciences, gerontology/geriatrics, and public health. It is also a useful resource for government and policy leaders, as well as workers and managers in the public and private sectors.




Working Better with Age


Book Description

Currently, Japan has the highest old-age dependency ratio of all OECD countries, with a ratio in 2017 of over 50 persons aged 65 and above for every 100 persons aged 20 to 64. This ratio is projected to rise to 79 per hundred in 2050. The rapid population ageing in Japan is a major challenge for achieving further increases in living standards and ensuring the financial sustainability of public social expenditure. However, with the right policies in place, there is an opportunity to cope with this challenge by extending working lives and making better use of older workers' knowledge and skills. This report investigates policy issues and discusses actions to retain and incentivise the elderly to work more by further reforming retirement policies and seniority-wages, investing in skills to improve productivity and keeping up with labour market changes through training policy, and ensuring good working conditions for better health with tackling long-hours working culture.




Aging and the Macroeconomy


Book Description

The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population. Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.




Managing the Aging Workforce


Book Description

Managing the Aging Workforce is one of the crucial topics for many of the world ́s enterprises. The increasing average age of populations does not only affect social systems, countries and communities, but also has a strong impact on the work of businesses and companies. The decline in demographic fitness will not only hit countries like the U.S., the Western European countries, or Japan, but also the upcoming societies in China or in the Eastern European countries. In many of these countries, during three or four decades the average age will grow from about 40 years now to about 50 years. Where experts are needed, this may result in an increase of the workforce's age of between 5 and 10 years in only one decade. For companies thus, a number of challenges arise that have to be overcome fast and continuously. The main topics in this field will be new strategies in leadership, new concepts in health management, new ways in knowledge management and learning, as well as new models how to drive ideas for diversity and innovation. On the one hand, enterprises therefore will have to invest in their aging employees for supporting their talents, helping them to learn and keeping them in the company. On the other, they will have to increase productivity, keep on searching for new products, and integrate experts from abroad. This has to be combined with new ways of strategies and HR management. This book presents an analysis of the present and upcoming situation, and an introduction into the strategic concepts enterprises will need to survive in aging societies.




Extending Working Life for Older Workers


Book Description

The UK population is ageing rapidly. While age discrimination laws are seen as having broad potential to address the 'ageing challenge' and achieve instrumental and intrinsic objectives in the context of employment, it is unclear what impact they are having in practice. This monograph addresses two overarching research questions in the employment field: How are UK age discrimination laws operating in practice? How (if at all) could UK age discrimination laws be improved? A reflexive law theoretical standpoint is employed to investigate these issues, applying a mixed methods research design that engages qualitative, quantitative, doctrinal and comparative elements. This book demonstrates the substantial limitations of the Equality Act 2010 (UK) for achieving instrumental and intrinsic objectives. Drawing on qualitative expert interviews, statistical analysis and organisational case studies, it illustrates the failure of age discrimination laws to achieve attitudinal change in the UK, and reveals the limited prevalence of proactive measures to support older workers. Integrating doctrinal analysis, comparative analysis of Finnish law, and the Delphi method, it proposes targeted legal and policy changes to address demographic change, and offers an agenda for reform that may increase the impact of age discrimination laws, and enable them to respond effectively to demographic ageing. Runner up of the 2017 SLS Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship. The author was also awarded the 2020 ISA-RCSL Adam Podgórecki Junior Prize.




Older Workers


Book Description

A timely overview of European employers' attitudes toward older workers, this book closely analyzes the Dutch experience and comparative examples drawn from a range of other countries. Wieteke Conen demonstrates that across Europe, and especially in the Netherlands, employers tend to blame higher labor costs and lower productivity on an aging workforce. As a result, they avoid hiring and--in some cases--retaining older workers, eschewing other strategies that might help bridge the perceived gap between costs and productivity. Exploring some of these alternative strategies, Older Workers reveals how employers and the government could increase labor force participation among this growing population.




Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management?


Book Description

Headlines frequently appear that purport to highlight the differences among workers of different generations and explain how employers can manage the wants and needs of each generation. But is each new generation really that different from previous ones? Are there fundamental differences among generations that impact how they act and interact in the workplace? Or are the perceived differences among generations simply an indicator of age-related differences between older and younger workers or a reflection of all people adapting to a changing workplace? Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management? reviews the state and rigor of the empirical work related to generations and assesses whether generational categories are meaningful in tackling workforce management problems. This report makes recommendations for directions for future research and improvements to employment practices.