The Double Standard in Attitudes toward Retirement – The Case of the Netherlands

Hendrik van Dalen and Kène Henkens (henkens@nidi.nl)
Additional contact information
Kène Henkens: Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), The Hague, The Netherlands.

The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, 2005, vol. 30, issue 4, 693-710

Abstract: In the coming decades, the importance of the older worker for the Dutch labour market will become apparent as the population ageing process progresses. Extending working careers may turn out to be a double dividend for welfare states like the Netherlands as it can prevent drastic cuts in benefits or large increases in pension contributions. The average Dutch worker, however, has a double standard when considering the prospect of working longer: while agreeing that working longer may well become necessary, workers do not think it will apply to them personally. Two structural impediments may explain this ambivalence and the low labour force participation of older workers: (1) stereotypes of older workers held by both employers and employees and (2) attitudes towards working longer are sensitive to the business cycle. Whereas solidarity with older workers seems to be a principle that holds true in good times, in times of recession other rules apply. The Geneva Papers (2005) 30, 693–710. doi:10.1057/palgrave.gpp.2510045

Date: 2005
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/gpp/journal/v30/n4/pdf/2510045a.pdf Link to full text PDF (application/pdf)
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/gpp/journal/v30/n4/full/2510045a.html Link to full text HTML (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:gpprii:v:30:y:2005:i:4:p:693-710

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/finance/journal/41288/PS2

Access Statistics for this article

The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice is currently edited by Christophe Courbage

More articles in The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice from Palgrave Macmillan, The Geneva Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla (sonal.shukla@springer.com) and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (indexing@springernature.com).