Employment Policies in Two Ageing Societies: Japan and Finland Compared

Heikki Räisänen and Haruhiko Hori

No 453, Discussion Papers from VATT Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: This study compares employment policies between two rapidly ageing societies: Japan and Finland. This paper concentrates on analysing the elderly people who leave the labour market early and the young people entering the labour market. Based on analysis of the statistics and literature and interviews with experts, Japan is clearly ahead in ageing itself, but Finland is somewhat ahead in the preparation for ageing. In Japan the main labour reserves are women, the aged and young people, whereas in Finland the unemployed, those outside the labour market, the aged and men are the main reserves. Both countries have carried through pension reforms and created incentives for the aged to continue working. The sustainability of the Finnish pension reform seems good. In Japan the focus is on the employers in influencing the aged to continue employment, whereas in Finland the focus is on the employees. Both countries have good practices in integrating young people into the labour market, despite the problems faced. Employment of the elderly is remarkably high in Japan, and development has been positive in Finland, too. In Finland female employment is high compared with that of Japan.

Keywords: Ageing; employment policies; Japan; Finland; Labour market; Työmarkkinat; Labor market and policies promoting economic growth; Työmarkkinat ja kasvua tukeva politiikka (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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