Introduction

The profound economic changes that have re-shaped Western economies since the 1970s have generated renewed interest in the debate on health status and old age. For a variety of reasons outlined in earlier chapters – the spread of male ‘early’ retirement, the rise in disability benefit claims, concern over health, social security and pension costs, alarmism over an ageing population in the future, the transition to new labour markets – the question of whether older workers ‘could’ or ‘should’ stay on longer in work has become central to public debate. If older workers are healthier than ever before, so it is argued, it is not unreasonable to expect them to stay in work a little longer. Retirement ages should thus be raised, and policies to persuade older workers to remain longer in the labour market should be introduced – including policies to combat age discrimination in the workplace. In addition, the ascendancy of ‘supply-side’ free market economics since the 1980s has meant that the alleged behavioural effects of welfare benefits have been put under scrutiny. The implication is that early retirement schemes have become too attractive an incentive, and should be cut back. Since working capacity has improved, it is argued, this should cause little hardship: older workers should be capable of supporting themselves through waged labour.

Accordingly, there has emerged since the 1980s a wide-ranging debate over the projected future health status of older people in advanced industrial societies.