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Promoting Employment among Ageing Workers: Lessons from Successful Policy Changes in Finland

Author

Listed:
  • Seija Ilmakunnas

    (Finnish Centre for Pensions, Research D, 00065 El&aauml;keturvakeskus, Finland.)

  • Mervi Takala

    (Finnish Centre for Pensions, Research D, 00065 El&aauml;keturvakeskus, Finland.)

Abstract

Among EU15 countries Finland has witnessed the largest increase in the employment of ageing workers since the late 1990s. In these years there was a rapid change from the policy of promoting early retirement to the policy of promoting staying at work. Furthermore, this rapid shift to a restrictive early exit policy took place in a situation that was especially demanding due to exceptionally high unemployment among elderly employees. This paper considers why and how the Finnish policy has been successful earlier than other EU countries in encouraging ageing workers to stay on at work. We argue that the positive change in employment is an outcome of the interplay between favourable economic trends and wide-scale work promotion measures. These work promotion measures include the restrictive changes in early retirement schemes. A severe recession in the early 1990s is an important background factor both for the increased need for reforms in the early retirement schemes and also for making the reforms politically more acceptable. The Geneva Papers (2005) 30, 674–692. doi:10.1057/palgrave.gpp.2510049

Suggested Citation

  • Seija Ilmakunnas & Mervi Takala, 2005. "Promoting Employment among Ageing Workers: Lessons from Successful Policy Changes in Finland," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 30(4), pages 674-692, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:gpprii:v:30:y:2005:i:4:p:674-692
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/5376 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Jukka Lassila & Tarmo Valkonen, 2007. "The Finnish Pension Reform of 2005," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 32(1), pages 75-94, January.
    3. Henri Sterdyniak, 2007. "Active Ageing Strategies to Strengthen Social Inclusion : discussion paper," Working Papers hal-00972902, HAL.
    4. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2014. "Age segregation and hiring of older employees: low mobility revisited," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(8), pages 1090-1115, October.
    5. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5376 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Kanabar, Ricky & Nivalainen, Satu & Järnefelt, Noora, 2024. "‘Relabelling’ of individual early retirement pension in Finland: Application and behavioural responses using Finnish register data," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 20-38.
    7. Ilmakunnas, Pekka & Ilmakunnas, Seija, 2011. "Hiring older employees: Do incentives of early retirement channels matter?," MPRA Paper 30885, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5376 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/5376 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2011. "Diversity at the Workplace: Whom Does it Benefit?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 223-255, June.

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