Early Retirement Across Europe. Does Non-Standard Employment Increase Participation of Older Workers?

Hervorming Sociale Regelgevin

The low incomes of self-employed immigrants in Denmark and Sweden

In this paper we analyse the incomes of self-employed in Denmark and Sweden and ask if there exist income differences between natives and immigrants. The OLS-estimates show that non-western immigrants have significantly lower annual incomes than their native counterparts. We then estimate quantile regressions and find that the difference between natives and non-Western immigrants is significantly smaller among those with high incomes (90th percentile) compared to those with low incomes (10th percentile). One explanation for this result may be that immigrants charge a lower price for their goods and services due to discriminatory behaviour among customers. Another explanation may be that non-Western immigrants have a lower reservation wage and hence accept to stay in business receiving a lower profit.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The low incomes of self-employed immigrants in Denmark and Sweden

In this paper we analyse the incomes of self-employed in Denmark and Sweden and ask if there exist income differences between natives and immigrants. The OLS-estimates show that non-western immigrants have significantly lower annual incomes than their native counterparts. We then estimate quantile regressions and find that the difference between natives and non-Western immigrants is significantly smaller among those with high incomes (90th percentile) compared to those with low incomes (10th percentile). One explanation for this result may be that immigrants charge a lower price for their goods and services due to discriminatory behaviour among customers. Another explanation may be that non-Western immigrants have a lower reservation wage and hence accept to stay in business receiving a lower profit.Self-employed; Immigrant worker; Income distribution; Quantile regressions

Perspectives of working life research

We recently finished a position paper on Swedish working life research for the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (1). An obvious question was the definition of "working life research". Searching the literature, we found a plethora of terms used to describe this area and lack of a generally accepted definition. It also became clear that the primary goals of such research varied widely between international organizations and governments. In this paper, our aim is to discuss the definition and goals of working life research

I exercise to postpone death - Interviews with persons with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis who are attending an osteoarthritis school

Background: Physical activity (PA) and exercise constitute the first line of treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and/or knee. Even though the symptoms may vary, OA should be considered a chronic disease and therefore PA and exercise should be performed lifelong. That needs knowledge and motivation. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and create a deeper understanding of the motivational processes for PA and exercise for persons with hip and/or knee OA who have participated in a self-management program OA school that included long-term exercise supervised by physical therapists. Methods: Twenty-two in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 participants recruited from the OA school at a Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Clinic in Sweden. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in one main theme, Developing health literacy to encourage motivational processes for PA and exercise in OA and four themes: 1) meeting an established self-management program; 2) carrying my life history; 3) understanding the intelligence of the body; and 4) growing in existential motivation Conclusion: Motivation for being physically active and to exercise, the life history in relation to PA and what creates existential motivation are important areas to ask questions about when people come to OA schools. Knowledge about the signals of the body connected to OA should be implemented in OA schools in order to motivate people to live an active life despite OA. Health literacy and the awareness of how PA can postpone death are likely to be important for existential motivation