Revisiting Economic Vulnerability in Old Age

This book offers an interdisciplinary analysis of the experience of economic vulnerability among older adults. Drawing on various fields ranging from happiness, economics to stress research, it integrates assessments from objective and subjective measurement perspectives. The book offers nuanced insights into prevalent experiences of low economic quality of life in wealthy countries, using empirical data from Switzerland. A sample of some 1500 adults aged 65-84 is taken as the basis for a systematic comparison of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of three - overlapping - groups of potentially vulnerable pensioners: those who are income-poor (objective measure), those who report difficulties making ends meet (subjectively self-assessed measure) and those who worry about not having enough money for current expenses (subjectively perceived measure). Theoretical and empirical evidence is offered for the distinctiveness of the two subjective indicators, one of whichassesses the experience of economic strain while the other captures the individual's response in terms of stress. The conceptual contribution of this research includes a typology of economic vulnerability: eight distinct profiles emerge at the intersection of the objective, self-assessed and perceived measures. These profiles correspond to specific risk constellations, and they reflect varying degrees of human agency in dealing with economic vulnerability.

Auteur

Julia Henke obtained her PhD in socioeconomics at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, in collaboration with the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES. Her research interests focus on quality of life, specifically the intersection of economic and psychological well-being. During her doctoral studies she started working for a development organization and since 2016 she works as a researcher in the communications department of a humanitarian organization.

Contenu

I. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

1. OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY

2. MEASURES OF ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY INTEGRATING OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MEASURES
   II. RESEARCH DESIGN

3. DATA SET
4. THEORETICAL MODEL AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
5. ANALYTICAL METHODS
6. CHOICE OF VARIABLES

7. MISSING VALUES
   III. PREVALENCE OF ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY AMONG SWISS PENSIONERS

8. SOCIO--DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE POPULATION
9. PREVALENCE AND OVERLAP OF THREE MEASURES OF ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY
10. BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS
11. ECONOMIC RESOURCES
12. FINANCIAL NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS
13. PSYCHOSOCIAL CONSEQUENCES AND SYMPTOMS
14. CONCLUSION
    IV. THE SELF-ASSESSED MEASURE OF ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY V. THE PERCEIVED MEASURE OF ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY

VI. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

REFERENCES