. . . the book can be recommended to all with an interest in the issue of older workers in a globalised world. Ageing and Society Early retirement has been a policy to cope with the problems of massive unemployment in many Western welfare states. However, it has become apparent that this strategy is costly and destroys human capital urgently needed in ageing societies. This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date study of late-career patterns and processes of early retirement in fourteen OECD countries, using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. It is an important contribution to life-course research and will provide the foundation for any serious discussion on pension reforms and increasing the employability of older workers. Hans-Jürgen Andreß, University of Cologne, Germany This timely book investigates the growth of the early retirement trend and its varying spread among different groups of older workers in fourteen modern societies. It argues for a differentiated political approach to reverse early retirement, which relies on both pension and employability policies for older workers. Examining the early retirement trend virtually all modern societies have been faced with since the onset of the globalization process in the 1970s and 1980s, this book provides a thorough analysis of older workers late careers and their retirement transitions, as well as explaining why this trend has developed differently between nations. To promote an effective reversal of the early retirement trend, national policymakers are advised not to concentrate their efforts exclusively on reducing the financial incentives for an early exit still present in most national pension systems. In addition, it is also recommended that they invest in the employability of older workers, implying a thorough reconsideration of the design of education and labor market policies. Dirk Hofäcker presents a unique and comprehensive synthesis of theories describing and explaining the trend towards early retirement, and critically discusses their comparative advantages and shortcomings. Researchers and students of sociology, economics, gerontology, demography and comparative welfare states should not be without this book and policymakers and practitioners dealing with labor market policies will find it invaluable.

This open access book provides a comprehensive perspective on the concept of ageism, its origins, the manifestation and consequences of ageism, as well as ways to respond to and research ageism. The book represents a collaborative effort of researchers from over 20 countries and a variety of disciplines, including, psychology, sociology, gerontology, geriatrics, pharmacology, law, geography, design, engineering, policy and media studies. The contributors have collaborated to produce a truly stimulating and educating book on ageism which brings a clear overview of the state of the art in the field. The book serves as a catalyst to generate research, policy and public interest in the field of ageism and to reconstruct the image of old age and will be of interest to researchers and students in gerontology and geriatrics.

The WHO World report on ageing and health is not for the book shelf it is a living breathing testament to all older people who have fought for their voice to be heard at all levels of government across disciplines and sectors. - Mr Bjarne Hastrup President International Federation on Ageing and CEO DaneAge This report outlines a framework for action to foster Healthy Ageing built around the new concept of functional ability. This will require a transformation of health systems away from disease based curative models and towards the provision of older-person-centred and integrated care. It will require the development sometimes from nothing of comprehensive systems of long term care. It will require a coordinated response from many other sectors and multiple levels of government. And it will need to draw on better ways of measuring and monitoring the health and functioning of older populations. These actions are likely to be a sound investment in society's future. A future that gives older people the freedom to live lives that previous generations might never have imagined. The World report on ageing and health responds to these challenges by recommending equally profound changes in the way health policies for ageing populations are formulated and services are provided. As the foundation for its recommendations the report looks at what the latest evidence has to say about the ageing process noting that many common perceptions and assumptions about older people are based on outdated stereotypes. The report's recommendations are anchored in the evidence comprehensive and forward-looking yet eminently practical. Throughout examples of experiences from different countries are used to illustrate how specific problems can be addressed through innovation solutions. Topics explored range from strategies to deliver comprehensive and person-centred services to older populations to policies that enable older people to live in comfort and safety to ways to correct the problems and injustices inherent in current systems for long-term care.

This book brings together Eastern and Western perspectives to explore human resource interventions into extending working life, including phased retirement, healthy work environments and lifelong learning. It assesses issues of implementation in differing cultural, intergenerational, institutional and family contexts.

The world is witnessing a dramatic demographic population growth explosion across all age groups that had it beginning around the early 1800s when the first billion people in population was recorded. Most importantly has been an increasing growth in the older population. Does population aging matter in the twenty-first century? Yes, it matters, because as research has pointed out, the increasing older population globally will have a significant impact on all essential societal systems—the family, pensions and retirement, and financial institutions, as well as medical, health, and social systems. This growth explosion or phenomenon will affect all continents, countries, and regions regardless of economic, political, and military power. Causative factors for this global growth in population have come about primarily as a result of medical advances/innovations, agricultural development, and the industrial revolution, especially the development of railways, seaways, and highways. A major emphasis of the book focuses on several very important factors: the growing older population as aforementioned, especially its impact on all of essential societal systems and the subject of ageism. Ageism becomes extremely important considering that the growing older population, the “silver tsunami,” represents the new majority. This new majority will no longer be ignored. Gerontologists for years have attempted to call attention to the fact. “Expectations for old people are based on negative age stereotypes. Members of American society generally expect and even encourage the aged to be asexual, intellectually rigid, unproductive, ineffective, and disengaged. Seniors are supposed to stay out of the way, sit in their rocking chairs, and enjoy the golden years. They are expected to be inactive, invisible, but happy” (Levin, J and Levin, W, Ageism, Prejudice and Discrimination Against the Elderly, California: Wadsworth Publishing, 1941, pp. 97–98). Speaking of being ignored, why aren’t more members of the older population involved at the decision-making tables in shaping a society for all ages? After all, they would bring years of experiences, skills, knowledge, and values for creating a society for all ages in the twenty-first century with justice and human rights for all. Currently, there is a global movement with a goal of the eradication of ageism in all of it forms. Some will recall from several decades ago the Grey Panther Movement in America with a similar mission of the eradication of all injustices at the time being experienced by the older population. The current movement says, “The time is now not later!” One major social injustice being experienced by the growing old population globally is the lack of income security in old age, including the lack of access to other essential services such as medical, health, and social including long-term care. More than 50 percent (51 percent) of older persons globally do not have basic income security or a social pension in retirement. A more alarming statistic is that in Sub-Saharan Africa (forty-seven countries), eight-two percent (82.5) of retirees do not have a social pension. Yes, for the older population, the new majority, the time is now for correcting the aforementioned injustices. Maybe what is needed is a human seismic force comprising the new majority to initiate a social movement with a goal of the eradication of all forms of ageism and ensuring that the growing older population will live in dignity and respect in later life including social protection/pensions.

The WHO Falls Prevention for Active Ageing model provides an action plan for making progress in reducing the prevalence of falls in the older adult population. By building on the three pillars of falls prevention, the model proposes specific strategies for: 1. Building awareness of the importance of falls prevention and treatment; 2. Improving the assessment of individual, environmental, and societal factors that increase the likelihood of falls; and 3. For facilitating the design and implementation of culturally appropriate, evidence-based interventions that will significantly reduce the number of falls among older persons. The model provides strategies and solutions that will require the engagement of multiple sectors of society. It is dependent on and consistent with the vision articulated in the WHO Active Ageing Policy Framework. Although not all of the awareness, assessment, and intervention strategies identified in the model apply equally well in all regions of the world, there are significant evidence-based strategies that can be effectively implemented in all regions and cultures. The degree to which progress will be made depends on to the success in integrating falls prevention strategies into the overall health and social care agendas globally. In order to do this effectively, it is necessary to identify and implement culturally appropriate, evidence-based policies and procedures. This requires multi-sectoral, collaborations, strong commitment to public and professional education, interaction based on evidence drawn from a variety of traditional, complementary, and alternative sources. Although the understanding of the evidence-base is growing, there is much that is not yet understood. Thus, there is an urgent need for continued research in all areas of falls prevention and treatment in order to better understand the scope of the problem worldwide. In particular, more evidence of the cost-effectiveness of interconnections is needed to develop strategies that are most likely to be effective in specific setting and population sub-groups.

Globalization has been strongly shaping and transforming both national economies and individual careers in recent decades. These profound changes have had significant consequences for individual careers of men and women both during and after their employment career. This impressive new collection focuses on the effects of the globalization process on late-midlife workers and the exit from employment – a relationship that has up to now mostly been neglected in social science literature on aging and employment. The research documented within these pages poses several important questions: * Has globalization produced fundamental shifts in late-midlife workers’ labor market participation and late careers? * What transformations in old age career mobility can we observe? * How are these transformations filtered by different national institutional settings? With an impressive array of contributions, this volume will interest students and academics involved in the study of sociology, welfare and globalization.

This book analyses reforms to retirement policies in Japan and South Korea, especially in the context of rapid population ageing. A defining feature of the labour markets and workplaces in these two nations, and the lives of workers and families, is involuntary retirement at relatively young ages. The book explains past developments and recent reforms of retirement policies both in the two countries, as well as in a cross-national comparative manner. At the core of the book is an examination of the social, economic and political conflicts around retirement, such as between younger and older workers, between employers and governments, and between employers and workers. The policy recommendations offered apply not only to Japan and South Korea, but also to other nations such as China. The volume is of value particularly for those interested in labour markets and workplaces, population ageing and contemporary East Asia, in addition to those studying retirement and pensions. Policymakers, business leaders, worker organizations, researchers and students will benefit from the insights about the past, present and future of retirement.

How have the immediate school-to-work transition and the early career changed in different labour market entry regimes since the early 1980s? How do institutional frameworks differ with regard to insecurity perception? Ellen Ebralidze investigates these topics from a cross-national perspective while focusing on Denmark, the darling of flexicurity literature. The results show that in all the labour market entry regimes, the school-towork transition has become increasingly difficult, and flexible forms of work are more typical in the first job. Furthermore, the liberal institutional framework of the United States seems to produce a similarly low degree of job-loss worry among young people in their early career as the Danish paradigm.

Aging has emerged as a major and urgent issue for individuals, organisations and governments of our time. In this well-timed and comprehensive handbook, key international contributors to the field of study come together to create a definitive map of the subject. Framed by an authoritative introductory chapter, the SAGE Handbook of Aging, Work and Society offers a critical overview of the most significant themes and topics, with discussions of current research, theoretical controversies and emerging issues, divided into sections covering: Key Issues and Challenges The Aging Workforce Managing an Aging Workforce Living in an Aging Society Developing Public Policy