Aging, retirement age and employment of older workers: general aspects, international comparison, and Italian case study.

Summary According to common demographic logic, the aging of the population should result in an increase in the retirement age. This is at least what is predicted for the next century. The aim of this thesis is to question the relevance of this diagnosis and its implications. We begin by noting that this postulate is not empirically verified in the past or in diachronic section when comparing countries at different levels of development. Aging is rather associated with a decrease in the retirement age. We are then interested in the factors that can explain this phenomenon retrospectively. Two analyses can be proposed: - an analysis of the labor supply side, based on an approach in terms of income/leisure trade-off. - a second analysis focuses on one of the factors that may explain this paradox: since the phenomenon of exclusion of older workers from the labor market is particularly marked in developed countries, we propose to examine in detail the retirement and early retirement schemes that help explain the international inequalities in employment rates at high ages in five industrialized countries (United States, France, Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom) It is indeed possible that the collective trade-off between income and leisure will cease to be systematically in favour of earlier retirement, given the cost in terms of social transfers. But the problem remains at the level of labor demand. This leads us to wonder about the factors that can facilitate the retention of older workers in the workforce. In particular, we will explore the idea that this retention can only be achieved at the cost of a certain flexibility at the end of one's career. We will try to answer this question by analyzing the links between the employment rate at high ages and the evolution of wages in the years preceding retirement, and by presenting the Japanese model in more detail. Finally, the whole theme of the retirement age will be illustrated by a case study on Italy. It will be approached from three angles: demographics, pension system reform and the labor market.