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Research Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life
This Research Handbook critically examines the myriad social and economic inequalities faced by those in later life. Contributors dissect examples from the Global North and South to support a new approach to studying ageing that moves beyond popular discourses.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
This Research Handbook critically examines the myriad social and economic inequalities faced by those in later life. Contributors dissect examples from the Global North and South to support a new approach to studying ageing that moves beyond popular discourses.
Cognisant of the diversity of ageing populations, the Research Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life outlines ways of rebalancing public policy agendas to consider older persons’ ideas and experiences. Throughout the chapters, experts present thought-provoking insights on ageing in the context of the community and the individual by delving into international case studies. They cover a wide range of issues, including employment, gender, wealth, housing, the ageing body, sexuality, indigenous populations, disability, technology, morbidity, and mortality. Presenting a progressive framework that prioritises wellbeing as a public good, the Handbook highlights the importance of social connectedness, older people’s advocacy, and further research into the meaning of successful and active ageing.
Comprehensive in scope, this stimulating Research Handbook will be invaluable for scholars of gerontology, sociology, anthropology, development studies, comparative social policy, health, labour policy, and public policy. It will also be of benefit to policymakers and practitioners in advocacy organisations.
Cognisant of the diversity of ageing populations, the Research Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life outlines ways of rebalancing public policy agendas to consider older persons’ ideas and experiences. Throughout the chapters, experts present thought-provoking insights on ageing in the context of the community and the individual by delving into international case studies. They cover a wide range of issues, including employment, gender, wealth, housing, the ageing body, sexuality, indigenous populations, disability, technology, morbidity, and mortality. Presenting a progressive framework that prioritises wellbeing as a public good, the Handbook highlights the importance of social connectedness, older people’s advocacy, and further research into the meaning of successful and active ageing.
Comprehensive in scope, this stimulating Research Handbook will be invaluable for scholars of gerontology, sociology, anthropology, development studies, comparative social policy, health, labour policy, and public policy. It will also be of benefit to policymakers and practitioners in advocacy organisations.
Critical Acclaim
‘The Research Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life represents a comprehensive overview of the range of experiences and challenges facing older people across the Global North and South. It provides a state-of-the art survey of theoretical and empirical research covering a wide variety of countries and topics. The Research Handbook represents a major editorial achievement and will be a key reference work for academics, policymakers and practitioners alike.’
– Chris Phillipson, University of Manchester, UK
‘Tackling topics such as aging bodies, income security, precarious work, colonization, prisons, sexuality, and more, Earl and Taylor curate thought-provoking chapters that push the global and intellectual boundaries of later life inequalities research. The Research Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life is a must-read for scholars, students, and advocates.’
– Jennifer Craft Morgan, Georgia State University, US
– Chris Phillipson, University of Manchester, UK
‘Tackling topics such as aging bodies, income security, precarious work, colonization, prisons, sexuality, and more, Earl and Taylor curate thought-provoking chapters that push the global and intellectual boundaries of later life inequalities research. The Research Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life is a must-read for scholars, students, and advocates.’
– Jennifer Craft Morgan, Georgia State University, US
Contributors
Contents
Contents
List of contributors vii
1 Inequalities in later life: an introduction to key issues 1
Catherine Earl and Philip Taylor
PART I LIMITS OF SUCCESSFUL AGEING DISCOURSES
2 Does gravity always win? Ageing experiences and models of
perfection from an art-based ethnography of body excellence 14
Chiara Pussetti and Federica Manfredi
3 Post-industrialism and intergenerational inequality in
distribution of the ‘good death’ in older age 29
Andrew Dawson
4 The denial of disability experienced by older people 41
Sandra South
5 Precarious work at older age in China: the role of institutions 56
Ge Yu, Philip Taylor and Xin Deng
PART II HOPE, RESILIENCE AND DISCRIMINATION IN LATER LIFE
6 Indigenous populations, ageing and the legacies of colonisation 76
Ellen Finlay and Tony Broe
7 A multidimensional trajectory of older refugees’ resettlement
and its policy implications 90
Shaune-Ru Wang, Victoria Guinn and Lisa M. Brown
8 Prisons and ageing: inequalities from the cradle to the grave 105
Philip J. Gover and Soraya Camarena Villar
9 Housing, ageing and inequity: Can the 100-year life work
without housing security for all? 121
Phillippa Carnemolla and Vivienne Skinner
PART III DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCES OF LATER LIFE
10 Technological policy tools and implementation of social
protection policies in Africa: emerging inequalities in social
safety net programmes for older persons in Kenya 139
Japheth Otieno Ondiek and Gedion Onyango
11 The role of sexuality in older people’s lives: a multi-method
analysis from Colombia 160
Fernando Ruiz-Vallejo, Carolina Borda-Niño-Wildman, Ángela
Cifuentes-Avellaneda and Catalina Devia
12 Socioeconomic inequalities in functional health among very
old adults in Germany 183
Jonas Fey and Jaroslava Zimmermann
13 The politics of older adult learning: social class, gender,
ethnicity and age inequalities 197
Marvin Formosa
14 Ageing and inequalities in the ASEAN countries 210
Philip Taylor and Catherine Earl
PART IV CHALLENGES TO AUTONOMY IN LATER LIFE
15 Caring for childless older people in the land of a thousand
hills: empirical evidence from Rwanda 238
Albert Irambeshya
16 Toxic workplaces, older women and the ‘pandeconomy’ 249
Myfan Jordan
17 Doing biography: (re)constructing the intersection of gender
and age(ing) through narrations and experiences of older people 267
Ines Hiegemann
18 Who chooses to switch patterns of employment after retirement age? 281
Hila Axelrad and Aviad Tur-Sinai
PART V AN AGENDA FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
19 Future agendas in researching inequalities in later life 299
Catherine Earl and Philip Taylor
List of contributors vii
1 Inequalities in later life: an introduction to key issues 1
Catherine Earl and Philip Taylor
PART I LIMITS OF SUCCESSFUL AGEING DISCOURSES
2 Does gravity always win? Ageing experiences and models of
perfection from an art-based ethnography of body excellence 14
Chiara Pussetti and Federica Manfredi
3 Post-industrialism and intergenerational inequality in
distribution of the ‘good death’ in older age 29
Andrew Dawson
4 The denial of disability experienced by older people 41
Sandra South
5 Precarious work at older age in China: the role of institutions 56
Ge Yu, Philip Taylor and Xin Deng
PART II HOPE, RESILIENCE AND DISCRIMINATION IN LATER LIFE
6 Indigenous populations, ageing and the legacies of colonisation 76
Ellen Finlay and Tony Broe
7 A multidimensional trajectory of older refugees’ resettlement
and its policy implications 90
Shaune-Ru Wang, Victoria Guinn and Lisa M. Brown
8 Prisons and ageing: inequalities from the cradle to the grave 105
Philip J. Gover and Soraya Camarena Villar
9 Housing, ageing and inequity: Can the 100-year life work
without housing security for all? 121
Phillippa Carnemolla and Vivienne Skinner
PART III DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCES OF LATER LIFE
10 Technological policy tools and implementation of social
protection policies in Africa: emerging inequalities in social
safety net programmes for older persons in Kenya 139
Japheth Otieno Ondiek and Gedion Onyango
11 The role of sexuality in older people’s lives: a multi-method
analysis from Colombia 160
Fernando Ruiz-Vallejo, Carolina Borda-Niño-Wildman, Ángela
Cifuentes-Avellaneda and Catalina Devia
12 Socioeconomic inequalities in functional health among very
old adults in Germany 183
Jonas Fey and Jaroslava Zimmermann
13 The politics of older adult learning: social class, gender,
ethnicity and age inequalities 197
Marvin Formosa
14 Ageing and inequalities in the ASEAN countries 210
Philip Taylor and Catherine Earl
PART IV CHALLENGES TO AUTONOMY IN LATER LIFE
15 Caring for childless older people in the land of a thousand
hills: empirical evidence from Rwanda 238
Albert Irambeshya
16 Toxic workplaces, older women and the ‘pandeconomy’ 249
Myfan Jordan
17 Doing biography: (re)constructing the intersection of gender
and age(ing) through narrations and experiences of older people 267
Ines Hiegemann
18 Who chooses to switch patterns of employment after retirement age? 281
Hila Axelrad and Aviad Tur-Sinai
PART V AN AGENDA FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
19 Future agendas in researching inequalities in later life 299
Catherine Earl and Philip Taylor
