Editorial on the special issue “Private Life Choices, Employment and Health”

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The health conditions of the German population have been subject to signifi cant changes in the past. Within the last forty years, for example, the life expectancy at birth of both men and women reported by the German Federal Statistical Offi ce rose by more than eight years. In recent years, chances of survival in the middle and old ages were responsible for the increase in life expectancy. In this respect – and to an extent never seen before – it is nowadays possible to spend one’s lifetime actively within the family and productively on the labour market. However, in times of a shrinking population, changes of the conditions on the labour market and new arrangements of private life choices, this positive development also presents us with new challenges. Thus, the improved health conditions have been accompanied by numerous social changes, which might counteract the benefi ts (e.g. longer working lifetime, erosion of traditional family structures). Moreover, up until today not all population groups can benefi t equally from the health progress (health inequalities). Therefore, this special issue has its focus on recent developments in the context of the topics private life choices, employment and health and will discuss their interdependencies (family and employment) regarding the development of health inequalities. The fi rst two articles both deal with issues regarding the relationship between employment and health with a particular focus on the aspect of social change. In their article “Can We Really (All) Work Longer? Trends in Healthy Life Expectancy According to Social Stratum in Germany”, Rainer Schulze and Alexander Unger ask the question whether healthy life years have increased along with the increase in life expectancy and whether all population groups (i.e. three different income groups and three different educational backgrounds) equally benefi t from this positive development. As a basis for their empirical analyses, they used the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), as its long observation period allows analyses spanning almost three decades. Thus, after a comparison of the years 1989, 1999 and 2009, the authors were able to show that healthy life years have increased in both men and women. However, although all social classes benefi t from this gain in healthy life years, the study also showed that regarding healthy life expectancy, social differences have increased over this period of time. This means that health inequalities between different social classes are rising. With these results of life chances that turn out to be so unequally distributed when looking at social class, the initial idea of a longer working life time for all cannot be followed through. The results rather suggest a more fl exible handling of the standard retirement age.