Late Work in Sweden: Exit Pathways Express Unequal Exclusion Risks

Based on Swedish National Registry Data, this paper investigates the social structure of exclusion risks in late working life in Sweden by analyzing exit from working life, employment breaks, and late employment trajectories according to gender and education. Individuals born in 1950 (n = 107,830) are followed between the years 2010 and 2018. Results show that women with low education exit working life earlier and have a higher risk of employment breaks due to reduced working ability, while men with low education have a higher risk of employment breaks due to unemployment. Men in general and people with high education have a higher probability of moving to self-employment in late working life. We conclude that research and social policies require an understanding of multifarious late work trajectories to unearth the inequality of exclusion risks in the late phases of working life and the potential for interventions towards equal and inclusive prolongation

Late Work in Sweden: Exit Pathways Express Unequal Exclusion Risks

Based on Swedish National Registry Data, this paper investigates the social structure of exclusion risks in late working life in Sweden by analyzing exit from working life, employment breaks, and late employment trajectories according to gender and education. Individuals born in 1950 (n = 107,830) are followed between the years 2010 and 2018. Results show that women with low education exit working life earlier and have a higher risk of employment breaks due to reduced working ability, while men with low education have a higher risk of employment breaks due to unemployment. Men in general and people with high education have a higher probability of moving to self-employment in late working life. We conclude that research and social policies require an understanding of multifarious late work trajectories to unearth the inequality of exclusion risks in the late phases of working life and the potential for interventions towards equal and inclusive prolongation

Ojämlikheter och åldersrelaterade nackdelar under den senare delen av arbetslivet och i utträdet från arbetsmarknaden i Sverige

The participation of older individuals in the labour market has increased as a result of recent demographic and societal shifts, as well as reforms of pension and social security systems. However, employment inequalities in late working life and labour market exit persist. Early exit from the labour market affects the sustainability of public finances and the availability of skilled labour, as well as the financial, social, mental, and physical well-being of individuals. So far, the literature on employment in late working life and labour market exit has mainly focused on individual choices. However, employment and exit in late working life are complex phenomena that depend on a variety of factors, such as individual life courses and labour market conditions. Based on Swedish register data, this thesis examines inequalities in employment and labour market exit among people aged 55 and over in Sweden, and the role of life course and age-related labour market disadvantages, including studies on: inequalities and diversity between gender and educational groups (Study 1); the relationship between mid-life labour market attachment and patterns of labour market exit (Study 2); age-related disadvantages in unemployment risk and re-employment chances (Study 3); and the link between older workers’ hiring chances and the characteristics and labour market conditions of employers (Study 4). Study 1 shows that employment trajectories, including the receipt of pension, unemployment and disability benefits, are structured by gender and education. While women tend to exit the labour market earlier than men and are more likely to receive disability benefits, men are more likely to move into self-employment or to receive unemployment benefits. Study 2 demonstrates that individuals with low labour market attachment early (at age 30) or late (at age 50-59) in their working careers are more likely to exit the labour market early, while low labour market attachment in mid-career (at age 40-49) is linked with later labour market exit. However, low labour market attachment in all career stages is associated with the receipt of work-related benefits in the year of labour market exit. Study 3 reveals that older workers (in their late 50s and early 60s) are less likely (compared with workers in their early 50s) to be wage-employed after a spell of unemployment, and more likely to become self-employed, to remain unemployed, to exit the labour market, or, if re-employed, to experience downward mobility (lower wage or part-time unemployment). Finally, Study 4 shows that the age and educational composition of employees, combined with the sectoral affiliation of employers and local labour market conditions, are directly related to the likelihood of hiring older workers. That is, older workers are more likely to be hired in establishments with a high share of older and low educated employees, in the health, education, transport and storage sectors, and in municipalities with a high share of older people of working age, a high unemployment rate, and a low share of unfilled vacancies. This thesis makes a unique contribution to the literature on inequalities and age-related disadvantages in late working life, as well as on policies to extend working life and tackle inequalities in old age. The overall conclusion is that the diversity of employment trajectories is socially structured and related to individuals’ employability, workability, and flexibility to change employment or exit from the labour market – structured by individual life courses and labour market conditions. Policies towards equal and prolonged working lives should focus on sustainable working conditions, lifelong learning, and discriminatory practices, not only in late working life but throughout the overall working life course.  Äldre personers deltagande på arbetsmarknaden har ökat till följd av demografiska och samhälleliga förändringar samt reformer av pensions- och socialförsäkringssystemen. Men ojämlikheten i sysselsättningen under den senare delen av arbetslivet och i utträdet från arbetsmarknaden kvarstår. Tidigt utträde från arbetsmarknaden påverkar de offentliga finansernas hållbarhet och tillgången på kvalificerad arbetskraft, samt individers ekonomiska, sociala, psykiska och fysiska välbefinnande. Hittills har litteraturen om sysselsättning och utträde från arbetsmarknaden främst fokuserat på individuella val. Sysselsättning och utträde från arbetsmarknaden är dock komplexa fenomen som beror på en mängd olika faktorer, såsom individuella livslopp och arbetsmarknadsförhållanden. Genom analyser av svenska registerdata undersöker denna avhandling ojämlikheter i sysselsättning och arbetsmarknadsutträde bland personer som är 55 år och äldre i Sverige, i relation till livslopp och åldersrelaterade arbetsmarknadsnackdelar, genom studier om: ojämlikhet och skillnader mellan kön- och utbildningsgrupper ( Studie 1); sambandet mellan arbetsmarknadsanknytning i mitten av livet och olikheter i arbetsmarknadsutträde (studie 2); åldersrelaterade nackdelar i arbetslöshetsrisk och återanställningsmöjligheter (studie 3); och sambandet mellan anställningsmöjligheten för äldre personer och företags/arbetsplatsers egenskaper och arbetsmarknadsförhållanden (Studie 4). Studie 1 visar att olika sysselsättningsbanor genom arbetslivet, inklusive mottagande av pension, arbetslöshetsersättning och sjukersättning, varierar med kön och utbildning. Medan kvinnor tenderar att lämna arbetsmarknaden tidigare än män och är mer benägna att få sjukersättning, är det mer sannolikt att män blir egenföretagare eller får arbetslöshetsersättning. Studie 2 visar att individer med svag arbetsmarknadsanknytning tidigt (vid 30 års ålder) eller sent (vid 50–59 års ålder) i arbetslivet är mer benägna att lämna arbetsmarknaden tidigt, medan svag arbetsmarknadsanknytning i mitten av arbetslivet (vid 40–49 års ålder) är kopplat till senare utträde från arbetsmarknaden. Svag arbetsmarknadsanknytning i alla olika karriärskeden är dock förknippad med arbetsrelaterade ersättningar under året för arbetsmarknadsutträdet. Studie 3 visar att äldre arbetstagare (i slutet av 50-årsåldern och början av 60-årsåldern) har lägre sannolikhet (jämfört med arbetstagare i början av 50-årsåldern) att vara löneanställda efter en period av arbetslöshet, och högre sannolikhet att bli egenföretagare, att förbli arbetslös, att lämna arbetsmarknaden, eller, om återanställd, uppleva nedåtgående rörlighet (lägre lön eller deltidsarbetslöshet). Avslutningsvis visar Studie 4 att ålder- och utbildningssammansättning bland de anställda, i kombination med arbetsgivarens branschtillhörighet och lokala arbetsmarknadsförhållanden, är direkt relaterade till sannolikheten att äldre arbetstagare anställs. Det vill säga, äldre arbetstagare anställs i högre utsträckning på företag/arbetsplatser med en hög andel äldre eller lågutbildade anställda, inom hälso-, utbildnings-, transport- och lagersektorerna samt i kommuner med en hög andel äldre i arbetsför ålder, en hög arbetslöshet och en låg andel lediga platser. Avhandlingen ger ett unikt bidrag till litteraturen om ojämlikheter och åldersrelaterade nackdelar under den senare delen av arbetslivet samt för utvecklandet av politiska strategier för att förlänga arbetslivet och motverka ojämlikheter i den senare delen av livet. Den övergripande slutsatsen är att olikheter i sysselsättningsbanor genom arbetslivet är socialt strukturerade och relaterade till individers anställbarhet, arbetsförmåga och flexibilitet i att byta anställning eller lämna arbetsmarknaden – egenskaper som är relaterade till individuella livslopp och förhållanden på arbetsmarknaden. Politiska strategier för ett jämlikt förlängt arbetsliv bör fokusera på hållbara arbetsförhållanden, livslångt lärande och diskrimineringspraktiker, inte bara i slutet av arbetslivet utan under hela arbetslivet.Funding: The EuroAgeism project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie (grant no. 764632), and the EIWO research programme, funded by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (grant no. 2019-01245).</p

Türkiye’de yoksulluğun kuşaklararası aktarımı.

This study examines the presence and dynamics of intergenerational transmission of poverty in Turkey and attempts to reveal the possible channels through which childhood poverty affects household income later in life using the “intergenerational transmission of disadvantages” module of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) (2011). The results show that childhood poverty decreases total household income by 5%. However, the effect of childhood poverty differs for the different components of household income. The results also show that childhood poverty increases the likelihood of choosing wage employment as adults but once this employment status is chosen, the experience of childhood poverty is not associated with lower labor income. However, education of parents is important in determining the level of pay. Among those who choose own-account work, the economic status of the family remains important: those coming from poor households earn less than other. Finally, the results suggest that experiencing poverty during childhood increases the likelihood of being income poor in adulthood as well. The bivariate probit results further show that current poverty status and childhood poverty status of an individual are not independent of each other. Unobservable factors that increase childhood poverty probability also increase the probability of being currently poor. In all specification and models, part of the intergenerational transmission of poverty appears to be happening through education. Hence, policy instruments that aim to bring about equality in opportunity in education are likely to reduce the intergenerational transmission of poverty.M.S. - Master of Scienc

Late Work in Sweden: Exit Pathways Express Unequal Exclusion Risks

Based on Swedish National Registry Data, this paper investigates the social structure of exclusion risks in late working life in Sweden by analyzing exit from working life, employment breaks, and late employment trajectories according to gender and education. Individuals born in 1950 (n = 107,830) are followed between the years 2010 and 2018. Results show that women with low education exit working life earlier and have a higher risk of employment breaks due to reduced working ability, while men with low education have a higher risk of employment breaks due to unemployment. Men in general and people with high education have a higher probability of moving to self-employment in late working life. We conclude that research and social policies require an understanding of multifarious late work trajectories to unearth the inequality of exclusion risks in the late phases of working life and the potential for interventions towards equal and inclusive prolongation

Tackling ageism during a global health crisis: multilevel, intersectoral &amp; transnational collaboration for active and healthyageing

This Policy Brief portrays two large-scale international projects which take on the ageing challenge, one focusing on tackling ‘ageism’, and the other one on improving multilevel governance and evidence-based decision-making for ‘active and healthy ageing’ (AHA). Both EuroAgeism and ASTAHG have picked up on the ageing challenge as they aim to understand the obstacles that people face because of their age, try to improve the overall quality of life of older people, and to remove barriers for their active participation in an age-inclusive society. The relevance of projects like ASTAHG and EuroAgeism has been well recognized even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but their importance has risen drastically ever since

The value of pension reforms for late working life: evidence from Sweden

PurposeDriven by the aim to increase the participation of older people in the labour force and to extend peoples working lives, the Swedish Parliament passed a bill in 1998 to increase the pension eligibility age from 60 to 61 years and establish a notional defined-contribution (NDC) plan. In this article, the authors investigate the impacts towards the prolongation of working lives expected from such an intervention.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply a multinomial probabilistic model based on Swedish registry data on the birth cohorts 1937-1938 (n = 102,826) and observe differences in exit behaviour between eligible and non-eligible individuals.FindingsThe authors find that the cohorts eligible to the pension reform exit the labour market at a later age compared to non-eligible cohorts at the 61-years cut-off. The authors also find that the effect persists in the long term. Furthermore, the authors find that both men and women are equally struck by the reform.Originality/valueWhile there exist many descriptive reports and theoretical analyses on the costs and benefits of pension reforms, this study is the first one to empirically analyse the effect of the first European NDC pay-as-you go pension plan on the potential exclusion of old-aged workers.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE) [2019-01245]</p

When we were young : how labour market attachment during mid-life affects labour market exit

Purpose In this paper, the authors attempt to understand how labour market attachment during the ages of 30–59 influences individuals' transition out of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach Using high-quality Swedish register data, the authors follow individuals born in 1950 and observe their labour market attachment during mid-life and their exit from the labour market. Findings The authors find evidence that labour market attachment in different stages of the career is differently related to exit from the labour market. At the age of 30, as well as between the ages 50–59, low attachment is related with earlier exit from the labour market. On the contrary, low labour market attachment during the ages 40–49 is related with later exit from the labour market. However, regardless of age, lower labour market attachment increases the risk of work-related benefit receipt in the exit year. The authors also find evidence that gender, migration status and childhood socioeconomic disadvantages may represent obstacles to longer working lives, while high education is a consistent factor in avoiding early exit from the labour market. Originality/value This study provides insights on the link between labour market attachment in different stages of the career and the exit from the labour market as well as work-related benefits dependency in the year of exit.Funding: The research programme EIWO is funded by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE), (grant number: 2019-01245)</p