New policies for older workers

Description

Against a background of population ageing, policy makers in the majority of industrialised countries are developing policies aimed at extending working life and promoting the benefits of employing older workers. This report reviews developments in several countries and offers recommendations for public policy. In particular, the report: offers a critical appraisal of current policies; highlights the fragmentation of these policies and the limited evidence for their effectiveness; considers the disadvantages of focusing attention on "older workers"; attempts to shift the debate away from a narrow discussion of the needs of older workers towards a more general discussion of policy on work and the ageing process; shows how other countries are tackling age and employment issues; and draws lessons for the development of public policy for older workers. Based on a review of recent literature and interviews with experts in Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the USA, this report should be valuable reading for policy makers, practitioners and campaigners.

Philip Taylor, Cambridge Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Ageing (CIRCA), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge