Abstract
In this essay, I outline a framework for studying work and retirement that takes into account the structural contexts in which individuals make decisions concerning economic activities in later life. This approach focuses on power relations in a global context, asking us to consider the relationships among advantaged and disadvantaged groups within and across national boundaries. Thus, it asks us to consider the impacts of global changes on local economies and workers, the welfare state, and intersecting power relations based on such characteristics as gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, religion and sexuality. I do not illustrate all of these power relations, but give examples of some ways in which they might influence individual patterns of work and retirement, and of how these influence the concepts of work and retirement themselves.
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Toni Calasanti is Associate Professor of Sociology, and a faculty affiliate of both the Center for Gerontology and the Women’s Studies program at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia.
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Calasanti, T. Work and retirement in the 21st century: Integrating issues of diversity and globalization. Ageing International 27, 3–20 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-003-1000-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-003-1000-1