Increases in well-being in the transition to retirement for unemployed. Catching up with formerly employed persons

in Ageing & Society (2017), online

This paper examines the extent to which well-being levels change in the transition to retirement depending on transitioning from being employed, unemployed, or economically inactive. Whereas transitioning ... [more ▼]

This paper examines the extent to which well-being levels change in the transition to retirement depending on transitioning from being employed, unemployed, or economically inactive. Whereas transitioning from employment to unemployment has been found to cause a decrease of subjective well-being with more time spent in unemployment, it is not clear how transitioning from unemployment to retirement affects well-being levels. We use the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe to monitor life satisfaction of respondents who retire in between two waves. We portray well-being scores before and after retirement and then identify the change in life satisfaction during the retirement transition using a First Difference model. Results indicate that being unemployed before retirement is associated with an increase in life satisfaction, but presents mainly a catching-up effect compared to employed persons transitioning to retirement. Retirement from labour market inactivity does not lead to significant changes in well-being. Findings are robust to selection into unemployment and country differences. As well-being of unemployed persons recovers after transitioning to retirement, especially the currently unemployed population should be supported to prevent detrimental consequences of economically unfavourable conditions and lower well-being. [less ▲]

Detecting the "Big Red Spot" of age-period excess mortality in 25 countries: Age-period-cohort residual analysis

in PAA Server (2017, April 28)

In times of wide availability of yearly mortality information of age and period groups all over the world, we lack in tools that detect and graph fine-grained deviations from mortality trends. We provide ... [more ▼]

In times of wide availability of yearly mortality information of age and period groups all over the world, we lack in tools that detect and graph fine-grained deviations from mortality trends. We provide a new age-period-cohort based methodology, combining information from age-period (AP) and APC-Detrended (APCD) analyses to detect all-cause mortality increases. Plotting the resulting AP coefficients and APCD residuals in equilateral Lexis diagrams, mortality patterns can easily be distinguished as age, period, or cohort trends and fluctuations. Additionally, we detect abnormalities as interactions of age and period (‘big red spots’). We then investigate the ‘red spots’ of mortality of young-adult cohorts in the early 1990s in Spain, other southern European countries and the U.S. to delineate their simultaneously occurring public health crises. Additional analyses with WHO mortality data show that mortality increases are mostly due to increased HIV/AIDS mortality. We discuss possible applications of the new method. [less ▲]

Diplomiert und arbeitslos: Zur Arbeitslosigkeit unter Hochschulabsolventen in Luxemburg

Article for general public (2017)

APCGO: Stata module to calculate age-period-cohort effects for the gap between two groups (based on a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition), including trends for each parameter

Computer development (2017)

The apcgo program calculates the blinder-oaxaca decomposition for each periodXage group context and estimates age-period-cohort APC-T (trended) models for the explained and unexplained gap. It provides ... [more ▼]

The apcgo program calculates the blinder-oaxaca decomposition for each periodXage group context and estimates age-period-cohort APC-T (trended) models for the explained and unexplained gap. It provides trended parameters of age, period and cohort effects (The trend in age is set to be the average effect of ageing of cohorts observed in the window of observation); appropriate constraints offer a unique solution and solve the traditional APC identification problem. The user provides a dependent variable, a binary group variable (gap), age and period, and controls from a microdata series of crossectional surveys. [less ▲]

Sociétés francophones dans le monde de 2050 : Une génération de développement humain soutenable

Report (2017)

Ce rapport est consacré à une question cruciale pour la Francophonie : le développement démographique, socioéconomique et humain comparé à l’horizon 2050 des sociétés francophones – ces pays membres ou ... [more ▼]

Ce rapport est consacré à une question cruciale pour la Francophonie : le développement démographique, socioéconomique et humain comparé à l’horizon 2050 des sociétés francophones – ces pays membres ou non de l’APF où la langue française joue un rôle important dans l’échange d’idées au quotidien. Il s’agit ici tout à la fois d’un bilan de ce développement depuis 1980 et d’une prospective à l’horizon de 2050. Nous soulignons le renouveau mondial de la francophonie au cours du XXIe siècle, en particulier dans le contexte de sociétés multilingues. Après des décennies de stagnation en proportion de la population mondiale, les pays francophones et la francophonie pourraient émerger comme troisième ère linguistique après l’Anglais et le Chinois, avec une présence sur l’ensemble des continents. Au travers d’un bilan dynamique des sociétés francophones, un ensemble de défis sont mis en évidence : la comparaison met en lumière les risques démographiques, de surpopulation, de pauvreté extrême, de gradient de développement humain (éducation, santé, égalité entre femmes et hommes, etc.). La génération qui vient pourrait voir une amplification des difficultés si nous suivons le scénario central de la prospective. Un autre scénario, optimiste, permet d’envisager une meilleure croissance des pays les plus pauvres, une marche vers l’égalisation du développement humain, un redéveloppement harmonieux, en promouvant la richesse humaine des pays en développement. C’est le message du philosophe Hans Jonas : en nous conformant au devoir d’améliorer le sort des générations suivantes, en investissant en elle, nous nous enrichirons ensemble. Sur cette voie, la pratique d’une francophonie multilingue – où le français est une langue officielle parmi d’autres – semble offrir aux pays qui la connaissent un surcroît de ressources de développement, en accroissant les canaux de la communication en interne et avec les autres pays. [less ▲]

La Spirale du déclassement. Essai sur la société des illusions

Book published by Seuil (2016)

Notre civilisation de classe moyenne est à la croisée des chemins. Alors qu'elle définissait le projet des démocraties modernes, elle fait face à des défis majeurs. La recristallisation en masse des ... [more ▼]

Notre civilisation de classe moyenne est à la croisée des chemins. Alors qu'elle définissait le projet des démocraties modernes, elle fait face à des défis majeurs. La recristallisation en masse des inégalités, la mobilité descendante, l'écrasement du pouvoir d'achat des salaires relativement aux prix des biens immobiliers, la paupérisation de cohortes entières de jeunes surdiplômés et la globalisation porteuse d'une montée aux extrêmes de la concurrence forment ensemble une spirale de déclassement aux effets potentiellement dévastateurs. Les inégalités de classes et la fracture des générations se renforcent mutuellement : à raison de la dynamique de repatrimonialisation, les écarts au sein des nouvelles générations sont appelés à se radicaliser. Ce sont autant de phénomènes dissimulés sous le voile du déni, qui risquent de réduire à néant l'ambition de laisser à nos enfants un monde meilleur. À partir de données et de comparaisons internationales inédites, Louis Chauvel récuse ici les illusions qui aggravent nos maux. Car les dénégations qu'on oppose aux difficultés réelles des classes moyennes et populaires, des jeunes et de pans entiers de la société ne font qu'aiguiser les frustrations et un ressentiment général dont la traduction politique s'exacerbe. [less ▲]

Between welfare state retrenchments, globalization, and declining returns to credentials: The European middle class under stress

in 2016 Conference Online Program (2016, May)

The Intensity and Shape of Inequality: The ABG Method of Distributional Analysis

in Review of Income and Wealth (2016), 62(1), 5268

Inequality is anisotropic: its intensity varies by income level. We here develop a new tool, the isograph, to focus on local inequality and illustrate these variations. This method yields three ... [more ▼]

Inequality is anisotropic: its intensity varies by income level. We here develop a new tool, the isograph, to focus on local inequality and illustrate these variations. This method yields three coefficients which summarize the shape of inequality: a main coefficient, Alpha, which measures inequality at the median, and two correction coefficients, Beta and Gamma, which pick up any differential curvature at the top and bottom of the distribution. The analysis of a set of 232 microdata samples from 41 different countries in the LIS datacenter archive allows us to provide a systematic overview of the properties of the ABG (Alpha Beta Gamma) coefficients, which are compared both to a set of standard indices (Atkinson indices, generalized entropy, Wolfson polarization, etc.) and the GB2 distribution. This method also provides a smoothing tool that reveals the differences in the shape of distributions (the strobiloid) and how these have changed over time. [less ▲]

Is income equality also better for your cognitive health? A multilevel analysis on trajectories of cognitive function at older ages

in PAA Server (2016)

This paper contributes to research on contextual associations with older-age cognitive function by investigating to which extent country-level income inequality is associated with older-age cognitive ... [more ▼]

This paper contributes to research on contextual associations with older-age cognitive function by investigating to which extent country-level income inequality is associated with older-age cognitive function and decline. Data came from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), providing information on cognitive function (fluency, immediate and delayed recall) of respondents aged 50-80 years coming from a total of 16 European countries that participated in at least two waves of SHARE. A total of 44,303 observations were available at first and second measurement, 13,509 observations at third measurement, and 9,736 observations at fourth measurement. Three-level hierarchical models (measurements nested within individuals nested within countries) were run, showing that income inequality was negatively associated with cognitive level but not with decline. The findings suggest that income inequality is not associated with cognitive trajectories. Mechanisms of maintaining cognitive function at older ages may not be susceptible to country-level income inequalities. [less ▲]

Malaise in the Western Middle Classes

in UNESCO (Ed.) World Social Science Report 2016. Challenging Inequalities: Pathways to a Just World (2016)