Bernhard Ebbinghaus Reforming Early Retirement in Europe, Japan and the USA   Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006 352 pages | ISBN 978-0-19-928611-9 | £50.00 | € 95,00 Order directly from Oxford University Press. This book is available in Oxford Scholarship Online.

 

 

Abstract | Contents | Author

 

 

Abstract

 
Since the 1970s early exit from work has become a major challenge in modern welfare states. Governments, employers, and unions alike once thought of early retirement as a peaceful solution to the economic problems of mass unemployment and industrial restructuring. Today governments and international organizations advocate the postponement of retirement and an increase in activity among older workers. Comparing the USA, eight European countries, and Japan, this book demonstrates significant cross-national differences in early retirement across countries and over time. The study evaluates the impact of major variations in welfare regimes, production systems, and labor relations. It stresses the importance of the 'pull factor' of extensive welfare state provisions, particularly in Continental Europe; the 'push factor' of labor shedding strategies by firms, particularly in Anglo-American market economies; and the role of employers and worker representatives in negotiating retirement policies, particularly in coordinated market economies. Over the last three decades, early retirement has become a popular social policy and employment practice in the workplace, adding to the fiscal crises and employment problems of today's welfare states. Attempts to reverse early retirement policies have led to major reform debates. Unilateral government policies to cut back on social benefits have not had the expected employment results due to resistance from employers, workers, and their organizations. Successful reforms require the cooperation of both sides. This study provides comprehensive empirical analysis and a balanced approach to studying both the pull and the push factors affecting early exit from work needed to understand the development of early retirement regimes.
 

 

Contents

Part I   Exploring Interests and Institutions
1	Introduction: The Paradox of Early Exit from Work
2	Actor Constellations and Interest Coalitions: Labor, Employers, and the State
3	Protection, Production, and Partnership Institutions: From Institutional Affinities to Complementarities
Part II   Comparing Early Exit Regimes
4	Ever Earlier Retirement: Comparing Employment Trajectories
5	The Protection-Pull Factors: Multiple Pathways to Early Exit
6	The Production-Push Factors: The Political Economy of Labor Shedding
Part III   Reform Obstacles and Opportunities
7	Exit from Early Retirement: Paradigm Shifts, Policy Reversals, and Reform
8	Conclusion: From Path Dependence to Path Departure?
Bibliography
Index

 

 

Author

 
Bernhard Ebbinghaus is Professor of Macrosociology at the University of Mannheim (Germany) and Head of the Research Department "European Societies and their Integration" at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES). He was previously Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) in Cologne and visiting fellow at CES, Harvard University, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and University of Jena.