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New estimates of economic flows by age combined with population projections show that in the coming decades (1) global GDP growth could be slower by about 1 percentage point per year, declining more sharply than population growth; (2) GDP will shift toward sub-Saharan Africa more than population trends suggest; (3) living standards of working-age adults may be squeezed by high spending on children and seniors; (4) changing population age distribution will raise living standards in many lower-income nations; (5) changing economic life cycles will amplify the economic effects of population aging in many higher income economies; and (6) population aging will likely push public debt, private assets, and perhaps productivity higher. Population change will have profound implications for national, regional, and global economies. Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging/[5P30AGO12839-24]/CEDA/Estados Unidos William and Flora Hewlett Foundation/[2013-9306]//Estados Unidos William and Flora Hewlett Foundation/[2017-4778]//Estados Unidos International Development Research Centre/[107451]/IDRC/Estados Unidos European Union’s Seventh Framework Program/[613247]/FP7/Unión Europea United Nations Development Account/[1617AO]/UNDP/Estados Unidos UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro Centroamericano de Población (CCP)

This policy brief looks at the major developments in women's position on the European labour market over the past two decades, identifying several pathways to increased female labour market activity and obstacles to overcome.

We investigate the problems and the potential solutions to the challenge of increasing women's participation on the European labour market. We focus on three major issues, linked to different moments in women' s life course. Firstly, we look at the youngest women's difficulties related to school-to-work transitions and the beginning of the working careers as well as the challenges related to childbearing. In the next step we analyze the patterns of lifelong learning among women and its potential to improve their human capital, skills and thus productivity, labour incomes and employment potential. We emphasize the necessity to adapt a gender perspective of lifelong learning, as different forces are affecting the career and educational choices and mobility of women and men, and these also vary over time. Finally, we investigate the labour market attachment of older cohorts and discuss the most prospective options of extending females working lives.

The European countries’ policies related to female participation in the labour market as well as approach to retirement ages have evolved in the course of the past two decades.This is the response to demographic, social and economic developments in Europe. After many decades of low and falling age of transition to retirement, women engage more in the labour market activity, and they also retire later. In this paper we look at the past and future evolution of transition from work to retirement of women. We also look at the current developments at the labour market as well as directions of changes in pension systems, from the gender equality perspective. Based on the set of labour market and pension system indicators, we propose a Pension Rights Gap Index that measures the distance to full pension rights scenario, taking into account wage levels and duration of employment as well as generosity and income redistribution mechanisms within pension systems.

Development and maintaining skills in a life course through various lifelong learning activities is crucial to sustain employability, particularly in the context of longer working lives and more competitive economic environment. In the paper we investigate the determinants and obstacles in lifelong learning from a gender perspective. Based on the results of Labour Force Survey and Adult Education Survey we investigate the extent educational activity of adults in Europe as well as look barriers and obstacles to lifelong learning.