Suchergebnisse

This editorial serves a double purpose. It introduces the articles and commentary comprising this thematic issue on old-age exclusion, and simultaneously aims to make a concise contribution to the discussion on the relation between agency of older people and old-age exclusion. While indeed it is clear that limitations of agency due to a lack of resources in old age or age discrimination lead to exclusion of older people, the relationship between reduced agency and exclusion is less clear in the case of internalized age norms. It ends with a plea for surveys studying older populations to pay more attention to older people's identities and life goals, opinions and reasons for action.

Debates surrounding working longer focus mainly on increasing legal and effective retirement ages, leaving the preferred retirement age largely overlooked. There is a large East-West divide in Europe regarding the latter, with individuals in Eastern Europe wanting to retire earlier. We aim to explain this gap in terms of differences in working conditions and state-level legal conditions. Using the 2010 European Social Survey data on employed individuals aged 50-70 in 24 countries enriched with country-level information, we find that part of the explanation is found in the lower levels of job control found in Eastern Europe. Moreover, the results suggest that Karasek's job demand/control model fits better in Western than Eastern European countries. Another explanation is found at the country level, where the legal retirement age accounts for a major part of the gap in preferred retirement ages between East and West.

Modernization theory has often been used to explain country differences in levels of ageism. The commentary at hand questions its usefulness in the analysis of ageism today for two reasons. First, modernization theory was developed to discuss social status of older people, not ageism. Second, social policies and management practices that emerged with industrialization are being rolled back over the last decades. We therefore argue for the reconsideration of the relationship between modernization and ageism and to re-assess it in order to better explain country differences in ageism in the 21st century.

The housing sector is currently under pressure: demographic shifts, urbanisation as well as the availability and costs of housing have led to increasing prices. Concerns are being raised that these rising housing costs could lead to intergenerational conflicts. While older generations often live in their privatelyowned dwellings, younger cohorts struggle to become homeowners, moving the field of housing into the spotlight of national debates. We analyse the importance of housing for Europeans using data from Eurobarometer. Results show that the relevance of housing increased between 2008 and 2018. However, generational differences were found: while older and younger people see housing as an important topic at the country level, only the younger generation seems to be affected personally.