Axel Börsch-Supan Books

The provision of retirement income is a dynamic system that must constantly adapt to changing economic and societal conditions. While incremental changes may suffice at times, larger reforms are often necessary. This evolutionary process is evident throughout history and across countries, as societies face new challenges, particularly regarding old age social security. Currently, all industrialized nations are grappling with rapid population aging, prompting the need to adjust their pension systems to address this unprecedented demographic shift. The six countries examined—Chile, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States—have each responded differently to this challenge. This variation raises important questions: Why do these countries respond so differently, and what can they learn from one another? The aim is not to find a one-size-fits-all solution to the pension issues stemming from population aging, as the countries differ significantly in demographic, cultural, historical, and economic contexts. However, national discussions often remain narrowly focused, even amid globalization. By looking beyond their borders, countries can gain valuable insights, particularly from those that have undergone reforms earlier, offering lessons from their successes and failures.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a major threat to the well-being of older Europeans. Its economic and social effects, however, varied across countries. This multidisciplinary book presents the first results of analyses that combined the renowned longitudinal database of SHARE with new data from two telephone surveys that were uniquely conducted during the pandemic. The analyses address important policy-related issues, such as: Did social distancing destabilize family and social support networks? Did the pandemic increase health, social and economic inequality? Who had to forego essential health care because of the pandemic? Did lockdown affect one’s physical and mental health? Did the shift towards remote work affect workload and well-being? Were different housing conditions related to the spread of the virus?

Health in later life is shaped by behavior and policies over the life course and reflects the differences between the societies in which we are ageing. This multidisciplinary book answers questions from all life course phases and its interconnections from a European perspective based on the most recent SHARE data, such as: How is our health related to personality traits and influenced by our childhood conditions and careers? Which role does our social network play? Which impacts of the different health care and societal regimes can we trace at older ages? Which are the differences and similarities across European countries?

SHARE is an international survey designed to answer the societal challenges that face us due to rapid population ageing. How do we Europeans age? How will we do economically, socially and healthwise? How are these domains interrelated? The authors of this multidisciplinary book have taken a further big step towards answering these questions based on the recent SHARE data in order to support policies for an inclusive society.

SHARE is an international survey designed to answer the societal challenges that face us due to rapid population ageing. How do Europeans age? Under which circumstances do older people and their families live, how healthy and active are they, and how did the crisis affect them? The authors of this multidisciplinary book have taken a first step toward answering these questions based on the recent SHARE data including a new social networks module.

Our health, our income and our social networks at older ages are the consequence of what has happened to us over the course of our lives. The situation at age 50+ reflects our own decisions as well as many environmental factors, especially interventions by the welfare state. This book explores the richness of 28,000 life histories in thirteen European countries, collected as part of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Combining these data with a comprehensive account of European welfare state interventions provides a unique opportunity to answer the important public policy questions of our time – how the welfare state affects people’s incomes, housing, families, retirement, volunteering and health. The overarching theme of the welfare state creates a book of genuinely interdisciplinary analyses, a valuable resource for economists, gerontologists, historians, political scientists, public health analysts, and sociologists alike.

Produktivität in alternden Gesellschaften enthält Beiträge aus ökonomischer Perspektive, untersucht aber auch nicht-monetäre Aspekte von Produktivität. Der Band behandelt ferner die Auswirkungen des demographischen Wandels auf die Leistungsfähigkeit der Wirtschaft mit Blick auf die Globalisierung. Um die Produktivität und damit auch den Lebensstandard unter den Bedingungen des demographischen Wandels zu erhalten und weiter zu steigern, werden notwendige Maßnahmen entwickelt. Diese beziehen sich auf den pfleglichen Umgang und die systematische Weiterentwicklung des vorhandenen Humanvermögens, also des Erfahrungsschatzes älterer Arbeitnehmer. Im Mittelpunkt des Interesses steht die Situation in Deutschland, aber auch Erfahrungen aus anderen Ländern werden einbezogen.