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On how different combinations of conditions produce different early exit/retirement outcomes: a qualitative (case-oriented) comparison of Denmark and Sweden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

Per H. Jensen Open the ORCID record for Per H. Jensen [Opens in a new window]
Per H. Jensen*
Affiliation:
Center for Comparative Welfare Studies, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author. Email: perh@dps.aau.dk
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Abstract

Denmark and Sweden are rather similar in most societal dimensions, but differ markedly with regard to the employment rate among older workers, which in 2015 was 65 per cent in Denmark and 75 per cent in Sweden. Using a qualitative (or case-oriented) comparative approach, this article seeks to identify configurations or combinations of conditions that have produced these differences in older workers’ work patterns. From an inter-disciplinary perspective, the article draws on the conceptual framework of push (e.g. involuntary retirement due to poor health), pull (e.g. voluntary retirement because of generous welfare benefits), jump (e.g. exit due to a search for life conditions that are more fulfilling than paid work), stay (e.g. older workers remain voluntarily in the labour market because work is fulfilling and well paid) and stuck (e.g. older workers remain involuntarily in the labour market because they cannot afford to retire). Findings are that low employment rates in Denmark are an outcome of a relatively strong combination of push–pull–jump factors, while Sweden, with its high employment rate, exhibits a combination of stay–stuck conditions.

Keywords

ageing labour forceageing policyemploymentearly exit/retirementpensionsqualitative comparisonDenmark and SwedenSocial Democratic welfare states
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 41 , Issue 10 , October 2021 , pp. 2335 - 2355
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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