In Europa la disoccupazione tra i lavoratori anziani č un fenomeno ancora marginale che colpisce in particolare i meno istruiti e i lavoratori con scarse competenze inseriti nei settori produttivi tradizionali. Sperimentare la disoccupazione in etŕ avanzata perň aumenta il rischio di rientrare nel mercato del lavoro con forme contrattuali atipiche e precarie.
According to the individualization of the life–course hypothesis, a largest set of institutionalized options available should facilitate individuals in realizing their preferences for the timing of life–course transitions. This study contributes to the literature by considering differences by gender and education (and their interaction) in the ability to fulfil preferences for early retirement across welfare states. We use longitudinal data from the SHARE survey as it includes information on preferences for early retirement expressed before actual retirement: we therefore avoid biases driven by the assessment of preferences for the timing of retirement after it occurred. We estimate discrete time regression models and find that positive preferences for early retirement are associated with an actual anticipation of retirement with respect to the statutory age. Although the size of the effect is small, it remains statistically significant even after models are adjusted for a number of potential confounding factors. However, no differences by gender and education (or their interaction) exist in the strength of the correspondence between preferences and behaviour. Finally, these results do not vary across welfare regimes. This evidence suggests that the timing of the transition to retirement is only marginally shaped by preferences and it is still strongly institutionalized, being a by-product of "agency-within-structure" mechanisms rather than an individualized process.
The digital transition poses relevant challenges and opportunities for older adults in aging European societies. To unleash the potential of the digital transition in old age and avoid the risk of exclusion, digital education for older adults seems to be a valuable solution. One of the most suitable approaches to digital education for older adults appears to be the peer-to-peer approach. However, not much literature is available on this topic. Within the ACTIVE-IT project, we aimed to design, implement, and evaluate a digital peer education course for older adults, focusing specifically on the use of smartphones and daily utility apps, such as mailing, e-Gov, and e-commerce. The purpose of this contribution is to document the protocol adopted to evaluate the course. The course involved 32 participants aged 65 or older, who, between March 2024 and June 2024, divided into three groups, attended a 10-lesson weekly course taught by a peer. We aim to measure the effect of the course on participants' digital skills and their perceived wellbeing. To do so, we will adopt a mixed methods approach, employing: digital methods by collecting and analyzing data on participants' smartphone use (i.e., log data on smartphone use before/during/after the intervention); a quasi-experiment, collecting information on course participants' wellbeing before/after the course attendance using a questionnaire survey; ethnographic observation conducted during the course, observing interactions between subjects during the course. The study has been approved by the Ethic Committee of the University of Milano Bicocca (prot.nr. 167541/2024).
