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How Have Employment Transitions for Older Workers in Germany and the UK Changed?

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  • David Wright

Abstract

Extending working life is an objective for many nations. However, the UK government has recently reported only modest improvement “compared to many nations”. A comparison of European, Labour Force Surveys show that Germany has reversed early retirement much faster than the UK since 2003. This was not forecast by previous researchers. In particular, Ebbinghaus’ influential cross-national analysis of early retirement, published in 2006, had predicted that liberal welfare states regimes like the UK would react faster than conservative ones like Germany. A review of changes to pensions and employment policies suggests the UK puts more emphasis on recruitment of older workers, flexible working and gradual retirement while Germany puts more emphasis on retention of older workers through age-management and employment protection. The paper compares the employment transitions of older workers using data covering 1993 to 2013 from the longitudinal surveys British Household Panel Survey, Understanding Society and the German Socio-Economic Panel. It finds little evidence for the recruitment of older workers or gradual retirement in either the UK or Germany and concludes it was the greater employment protection for older workers in Germany that enabled the employment rate for older workers to increase even during the recent recession.

Suggested Citation

  • David Wright, 2015. "How Have Employment Transitions for Older Workers in Germany and the UK Changed?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 782, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
  • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp782
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    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.512532.de/diw_sp0782.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ebbinghaus, Bernhard, 2008. "Reforming Early Retirement in Europe, Japan and the USA," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199553396.
    2. Schmid, Günther, 1998. "Transitional labour markets: A new European employment strategy," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment FS I 98-206, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    3. Christian Brzinsky-Fay & Ulrich Kohler & Magdalena Luniak, 2006. "Sequence analysis with Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 6(4), pages 435-460, December.
    4. Scherger, Simone & Hagemann, Steffen & Hokema, Anna & Lux, Thomas, 2012. "Between privilege and burden: Work past retirement age in Germany and the UK," Working papers of the ZeS 04/2012, University of Bremen, Centre for Social Policy Research (ZeS).
    5. Jacqueline O'Reilly & Silke Bothfeld, 2002. "What happens after working part time? Integration, maintenance or exclusionary transitions in Britain and western Germany," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 26(4), pages 409-439, July.
    6. Anika Rasner, 2014. "Early Retirement at 63: Fair Compensation or Pension Giveaway?," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 9, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Gert G. Wagner & Joachim R. Frick & Jürgen Schupp, 2007. "The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) – Scope, Evolution and Enhancements," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 139-169.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cebulla Andreas & Wilkinson David, 2019. "Responses to an Ageing Workforce: Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 10(1), pages 120-137, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Older workers; United Kingdom; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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