Ageing and the Transition to Retirement
A Comparative Analysis of European Welfare States
New Perspectives on Ageing and Later Life Series

There are two conflicting trends in Europe: a demographic shift towards population ageing, and a massive decrease in the labour force participation of older workers (aged 50 years and over). This captivating book offers a refined and authoritative understanding of these trends and the two socio-economic concerns of most European welfare states that have been re-enforced as a consequence. These are: the increasing costs for welfare states to finance 'pathways' from employment to official retirement, and the threat of labour market shortages in the near future as a result of both the ageing process and the early exit of older workers. A variety of new policy initiatives can be observed emerging from these changes in many European countries - this book examines the different welfare state arrangements in nine EU countries plus Hungary, Slovenia and Norway. It considers ways of integrating older workers in the labour market along with differing perspectives on the relation between ageing and work.

Contents: Introduction, Bert de Vroom, Tony Maltby, Maria Luisa Mirabile and Einar Øverbye; Age-arrangements, age-culture and social citizenship: a conceptual framework for an institutional and social analysis, Bert de Vroom; Norway: still high employment among older workers, Per Erik Solem and Einar Øverbye; Ageing and work: from 'early' exit to 'late' exit in Denmark, Per H. Jensen; From early exit culture to the policy of active ageing: the case of Finland, Raija Gould and Laura Saurama; Early retirement in Germany, Christina Teipen and Martin Kohli; The shift from early to late exit: changing institutional conditions and individual preferences: the case of the Netherlands, Bert de Vroom; Belgium: from early to progressive retirement?, Laura Merla; France: a country with a deep early exit culture, Anne-Marie Guillemard and Dominique Argoud; A 'new deal' for older workers in the United Kingdom?, Philip Taylor; Ageing and the labour market in Hungary, Zsuzsa Széman; The older population in the labour market in Slovenia: situation and policies, Dorotea VerÅ¡a; Ageing and work in Italy, Maria Luisa Mirabile; Ageing and work in Spain: the end of working life?, Anabel Suso Araico; Conclusions, Maria Luisa Mirabile; Index.

Tony Maltby is Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the Institute of Applied Social Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK; Bert De Vroom is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Twente, The Netherlands; Maria Luisa Mirabile works for IRES (Economic and Social Research Institute) in Rome, Italy; and Einar Øverbye is Senior Researcher for NOVA (Norwegian Social Research) in Oslo, Norway.