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Policy Changes and the Labour Force Participation of Older Workers: Evidence from Six Countries*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Martin Cooke
Martin Cooke*
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to:/Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être addressées à : Martin Cooke, Sociology Department and Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Dr. W, Waterloo ON N2L 3G1. (cooke@watarts.uwaterloo.ca)
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Abstract

In response to the anticipated pressures of population aging, national governments and supranational bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU) have promoted policies to encourage the labour force participation of older workers. The recent elimination of mandatory retirement in Ontario is an example of such a policy, and others include changes to national pension systems and changes to disability and employment insurance programs, active labour-market policies, and the promotion of phased or gradual retirement. This paper reviews the different policy approaches taken in the six countries included in the Workforce Aging in the New Economy (WANE) project, placing Canadian policy approaches in relation to those taken in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. From the life course perspective, the policy approaches discussed here do not consider the heterogeneity of older workers' life courses or the related domains of health and family. As well, the changes made thus far do not appear likely to lead to increased labour force participation by older workers, and some may leave older workers at greater risk of low income and low-wage work.

Résumé

En réponse aux pressions bientôt exercées par le vieillissement de la population, des gouvernements nationaux et des organismes supranationaux comme l'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE) et l'Union européenne (UE) ont préconisé l'adoption de politiques visant à encourager les travailleurs âgés à demeurer ou à revenir sur le marché du travail. L'élimination récente de l'obligation à la retraite en Ontario en est un exemple, et certaines autres politiques comportent des modifications aux régimes nationaux de pension ainsi qu'aux programmes d'assurance-invalidité et d'assurance-emploi, des politiques d'intervention active sur le marché du travail et la promotion de la retraite graduelle. Le présent article examine les différentes approches politiques prises par les six pays participant au projet Workforce Aging in the New Economy (WANE), un projet sur le vieillissement de la population active face à la nouvelle économie qui place les approches politiques canadiennes en relation avec celles de l'Australie, de l'Allemagne, des Pays-Bas, du Royaume-Uni et des États-unis. Les approches politiques faisant l'objet de discussion ici ne tiennent pas compte de l'hétérogénéité du cours de la vie des travailleurs âgés ou des domaines connexes de la santé et de la famille. De même, les modifications apportées jusqu'à maintenant ne semblent pas vouloir mener à une participation accrue des travailleurs âgés au marché du travail, et certaines peuvent entraîner, pour les travailleurs âgés, un plus grand risque de trouver seulement un emploi moins bien rémunéré.

Keywords

agingretirement policyolder workerslife coursevieillissementpolitique de retraitetravailleurs âgéscours de la vie
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , Winter/Hiver 2006 , pp. 387 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2006

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Footnotes

*

I would like to acknowledge the support of the Workforce Aging in the New Economy SSHRC INE Project and thank Dr. Julie McMullin, several WANE investigators, and the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. I also thank Dr. Kerry Platman for exposing me to Günther Schmid's work. This paper contains material presented at the Canadian Association on Gerontology Annual Meetings in October, 2003 and at a joint session of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association and Canadian Population Society in June, 2005.

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