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on Economics of Ageing |
| By: | Walwei, Ulrich (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "In Germany, as in many other countries in the western world, the baby boomers are reaching retirement age. As fewer young workers are entering the labour market than older workers are leaving due to low birth rates, the labor force workers is falling, all other things being equal. At the same time, the funding problems in the pension insurance system are growing, as fewer and fewer people are paying into the pension scheme, particularly in the internationally widespread pay-as-you-go systems. At the same time the proportion of pensioners is growing. Against this backdrop, the labor market participation of older people is increasingly coming into focus. The report begins with an overview of older people's labour force participation in a broader international comparison. This is followed by a description of the situation in Germany. A closer look will then be taken at the countries that are at the forefront of older people's labour force participation. The aim is to obtain indications of the factors that may have contributed to the high level of employment among older people in these countries. The Federal Republic of Germany has clearly caught up in the employment of older people in recent decades. This applies in particular to the 50-64 age group. Compared to the leading countries, Germany is only a few percentage points behind. However, the 65-74 age group is still lagging further behind. The future gap to other countries in this age group will be influenced by opposing developments. The further steps towards "retirement at 67" are likely to reduce it further, but the "retirement at 63" will slow it down. However, Germany is still outperformed by some countries in terms of the employment rates of older people. This raises the question of what factors could be behind the favourable development of the labour market for older people in these countries. For the purposes of comparison, this report takes a closer look at the situation in Japan, New Zealand, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, all of which have even higher employment rates for older people than Germany. Various aspects that are important for the employment of older people are analyzed in turn from an international comparative perspective. The country comparison reveals a number of important points that could be considered in Germany. The high level of employment among older people in Iceland, Sweden and Norway is linked to the high female labor force participation rate in both countries and continuous improvements in the educational level of the population, including further vocational training. New Zealand has a low pay gap between older and younger workers and comparatively high hiring rates for older workers, following a consistent and publicly visible anti-discrimination policy. In Japan, demographic pressure on labour demand and income requirements at the individual level is of significant importance. High or rising employment rates for older people are not an automatic mechanism. They require good education and qualifications at the individual level as well as the opportunity and ability to engage in lifelong learning. Preventive healthcare is also required for a long working life, which, like education, is best started as early as possible. High employment rates among older people are not only favoured by individual employability, but also by the attractiveness of the labor market and thus the availability of employment for older workers. The more it is possible to address the skills and abilities of older workers, organise age-appropriate work and respond flexibly to employees' wishes, the greater the chance of retaining older workers in the labor market or of winning them back. Finally, regulations and support programmes that provide incentives for employment in old age should also be considered. These include the flexibility of pension entitlement, more favorable labour law provisions for continued employment in old age, the longer period of unemployment benefit for older people, their inclusion in active labor market policy and a review of the regulations in the citizen's allowance that favour early retirement, such as the waiting periods for assets and housing." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Island ; Japan ; Neuseeland ; Norwegen ; Schweden ; IAB-Open-Access-Publikation ; Auswirkungen ; Beschäftigungsform ; Betriebszugehörigkeit ; Dauer ; demografischer Wandel ; Erwerbsbeteiligung ; Erwerbspersonenpotenzial ; Erwerbsquote ; Rente mit 67 ; internationaler Vergleich ; Lohnhöhe ; ältere Arbeitnehmer ; OECD ; Rentenalter ; Rente mit 63 ; 1995-2022 |
| Date: | 2024–11–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfob:202414(en) |
| By: | Michele Bertani (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Michele Marzulli (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Andrea Pastore (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) |
| Abstract: | Venice represents a distinctive case study, situated at the nexus of diverse socioeconomic and demographic dynamics. This makes it an invaluable laboratory for investigating medium- and long-term trends in Italy and other Western countries. Despite its status as an economically advanced region, Venice has been experiencing a twofold demographic crisis: depopulation of the historical areas and an aging of the resident population, which present a significant challenge to sustainability and social cohesion. The city of Venice has one of the highest percentages of individuals aged 65 years and over in Italy. It is of the utmost importance that local policies be based on empirical evidence in order to construct economically and socially resilient cities that will be equipped to meet the challenge of demographic change. This paper presents an analysis of the AFCCQ dataset, which is based on a survey conducted in Venice. The findings demonstrate notable discrepancies in demographic characteristics, including sex, age, socio-economic status, receipt of care support, and utilization of mobility aids. The paper puts forth a series of recommendations for the policymaking process, with the aim of adapting city policies in a manner that aligns with the scientific findings of the research. |
| Keywords: | Older people, Venice, age-friendly cities, active ageing, population decline |
| JEL: | C1 C4 Z1 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2024:20 |
| By: | Jacob Bikker; Jeroen Meringa |
| Abstract: | One of the key missions of pension funds is to maximise returns on pension investments. The five largest pension funds in the Netherlands allocate their assets differently among possible investment products compared to the smaller pension funds. This allocation strategy has positively impacted their net returns over the past decade without significantly increasing their risk exposure. Additionally, they benefit from economies of scale when investing their assets. However, these large pension funds have lost their returns advantage due to less effective interest rate risk hedging strategies. Furthermore, performance fees – paid almost exclusively by the largest funds – negatively impact net returns, except for fees associated with private equity and hedge funds. |
| Keywords: | Pension fund investment returns; scale economies; investment allocation; pension funds size-return relationship; performance fees; consolidation |
| JEL: | G23 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:822 |
| By: | Ericson, Thomas (Department of Economics and Statistics); Sjöstrand, Glenn (Department of Social Studies, Linnaeus University, Sweden) |
| Abstract: | The existence of skills shortages in labour markets is a widespread phenomenon observed in various economies and employment sectors. This study explores the relationship between companies' skills shortages and their HR policies and practices targeting older workers, which constitute a part of their overall age management strategy. The study addresses the following key questions: How do skills shortages affect personnel policies and practices for older workers? What are the plausible explanations for the presence or absence of a dependency between skills shortages and HRM strategies tailored for older workers? This study uses data that originates from a web-survey in 2015 among 6 000 establishments in Sweden with at least 10 employees. The survey included questions about the characteristic of the surveyed firms/establishments and HRM policies towards older employees. We perform regression analysis where the outcome variable is coded as a dichotomous variable (logit regression), which allows us to estimate the probability that an employer use a certain age-management measure as a response to the presence of skill shortage, when controlling for the possible effect of the control variables (firm size and industry). We find that skills shortages in combination with an expected firm growth in terms of number of employees increases the probability of measures that aim to delay retirement, by asking workers to delay retirement and/or to restricting early retirement and part-time retirement. When firms do not expect to grow, skills shortages increases the probability of reduced workload for older workers and reduces duties and salary, but this effect is restricted to firms that report a high level of skills among their employees. Other HRM policies are also increasing with skills shortages, such as age limits for irregular working hours, flexible working hours, but in this case only in firms that report a low level of skills among their employees. The results highlight that skills shortages affect firms’ age-management, and that measures are sensitive to firms’ growth-expectations and skill level. The study illuminates the nuanced relationship between skills shortages and specific HR approaches, providing valuable insights into the considerations that shape professional practices within the realm of HR management. |
| Keywords: | Skills shortages; HR policy; Older workers; Retirement |
| JEL: | J24 J26 J53 |
| Date: | 2024–11–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:vxesta:2024_015 |
| By: | Saki Sugano; Michio Yuda |
| Abstract: | The establishment of a universal health insurance system has contributed significantly to improving national health standards and increasing life expectancy. In Japan, where a public system was introduced in 1961, many health indicators have improved substantially; however, population aging threatens the financial sustainability of the current system. This study aims to examine how the fiscal burden of population aging affects health insurance finances established by individual companies or corporate groups and induces changes in the insurer’s responses. Using a panel data set of insurers operated by large companies from 2003 to 2018, we find that contributions to healthcare systems for the elderly have a significant negative impact on insurance finances that is almost as large as rising healthcare costs for young members. In addition, the insurers facing financial distress tend to use their own reserve fund without compromising benefits to enrollees. However, they are more likely to dissolve their own health insurance and switch to the other public health insurance plan for small and medium-sized firms when their sustainability deteriorates further. We also find that a large economic shock that severely affects corporate profits has a negative effect on insurance finances. These findings suggest that the design of health insurance policies needs to consider long-term demographic changes after the introduction of universal coverage. |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tupdaa:58 |
| By: | Kim, Sukkyung (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade) |
| Abstract: | he scale of the silver economy in South Korea is rapidly expanding, but senior-friendly industries (SFIs) have yet to catch up to growing demand, even as Korea’s demographic crisis poses several daunting challenges to meeting this demand, such as an ongoing shortage of care workers and rising healthcare costs. As these issues affect other industrialized nations as well, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China, many governments have set out to capitalize on the growing spending power of seniors by fostering targeted industries, and have also sought to address the dilemma of lack of care workers and mounting medical costs through age tech: technologies and systems designed to improve quality of life for older adults. The lack of SFI products, services, and policies in Korea contrasts with the ever-expanding range products, services and policy programs available in other major economies worldwide. The Korean government needs to give this issue the policy attention it deserves, but has thus far failed to do so, eliminating the budget earmarked for fostering SFIs in 2024 and neglecting to include plans for SFIs and age tech in the current national master plan, which runs up to 2025. As of right now, the Korean government has neither plans nor a budget for SFIs. But as the country’s elderly population explodes, it is now incumbent upon Korean policymakers to devise a comprehensive vision for SFIs, and the policies that emerge from such a vision would do well to focus on age tech. But before doing so, policymakers must first understand the conceptual differences between the silver economy and SFIs. In deciding which industries are to benefit from policy decisions, it is essential to clearly delineate the scope of SFIs; only those industries that mainly or exclusively target seniors as customers or end users should be included. Moreover, in Japan and China, ministries with overlapping portfolios work together on common issues. South Korea’s ministries should do the same, jointly establishing and implementing comprehensive plans to promote age tech and SFIs. Only by doing so can Korea hope to mitigate the social and economic costs of its graying population while fostering SFIs as a new engine for economic growth. |
| Keywords: | senior-friendly industries; SFIs; silver economy; population aging; demographic change; South Korea; KIET |
| JEL: | L16 L80 L88 R23 |
| Date: | 2024–07–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kietrp:2024_009 |
| By: | Alicia H. Munnell |
| Abstract: | The 2024 Trustees Report showed a slight drop in the 75-year deficit, but the depletion date for the retirement trust fund remains at 2033. The prospect of a 21-percent benefit cut only 9 years away should focus our attention on restoring balance to the program. Further delay has real costs: options like investing part of the trust fund in equities are disappearing as the trust fund slides towards zero; the burden of tax increases or benefit cuts fully shifts to Millennials and subsequent generations; and waiting creates a crisis, so any fix should include automatic adjustments to restore balance so we never get in this mess again. |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:issbrf:ib2024-11 |
| By: | Siyan Liu; Laura D. Quinby; James Giles |
| Abstract: | Policymakers are increasingly interested in expanding access to paid leave, which includes temporary disability insurance TDI.Advocates argue that TDI could reduce reliance on Social Security disability insurance DI by helping workers adjust to health shocks and return to work.Our results show that access to TDI reduces DI applications a lot, DI awards a little, and boosts employment for workers with severe disabilities.For those with less severe conditions, though, TDI seems to lead to earlier retirement. |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:issbrf:ib2024-10 |
| By: | Ballesteros, Marife M.; Ramos, Tatum P.; Ancheta, Jenica A. |
| Abstract: | This study examines how demographic changes lead to different household structures and housing choices among various age groups. It argues that the cointegration of demography, the housing market, and wealth has shaped housing demand in the country over time. The results have important, often unrecognized implications for housing policy. Estimating housing needs without a contextual analysis of household formation can be misleading; thus, the government must connect demographic changes to housing demand to ensure the correct policy framework is established that balances the needs of the productive sector with those of the growing elderly population in terms of housing consumption. Comments on this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | demographic trends;household formation;homeownership;housing habitability;Philippines |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2024-26 |
| By: | Siyan Liu; Laura D. Quinby |
| Abstract: | The employment rate for workers ages 51-64 with a disability is significantly above the pre-COVID level. Nearly all of the employment gain was in teleworkable jobs, even after accounting for other factors that might affect work activity. The availability of teleworkable jobs encouraged some to reenter the labor force and others to switch to remote jobs instead of exiting the labor force. Whether these effects will persist remains unclear, as remote work options could decline as the labor market returns to more normal conditions. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:issbrf:ib2024-19 |