Life Course Influences on Inequalities in Later Life: Comparative Perspectives

Abstract

The papers contained in this special issue of the Journal of Population Ageing originated in a session held at the 2014 International Sociological Association Conference, for which we organised a symposium for the Research Committee on Sociology of Aging, sharing the same title as this editorial. The main motivation for the symposium, and for this issue, is the recognition that outcomes in later life are influenced by social advantages and disadvantages over the life course. Of course this is a truism, but understanding the mechanisms through which such life course influences operate, and how context shapes them, is crucial to informing policy aimed at improving outcomes in later life (Dannefer and Settersten 2010). For example, we might consider how investments in childhood and early adulthood (such as in education, housing and welfare) set trajectories of accumulating advantage and disadvantage to influence outcomes in later life, or hownegative trajectories into later life thatmight be common for some population groups can be ‘broken’ by such policy driven investments. The importance of policy development with later life in mind cannot be overstated in the context of population ageing. This will not be a new argument for the readers of this journal, but it is worth recognising that much of the research that we undertake and publish makes only passing reference to the importance of the life course, even when there is a focus on inequalities. Policy responses require a thorough understanding of the most effective points in the life course for building resources and interventions that yield ongoing benefits for individuals and societies. The life course perspective provides a valuable corrective to crosssectional descriptions and policy discussions that focus on differences between age groups and generations, often in ideological laden debates on generational advantage and intergenerational justice without an acknowledgement of inequalities within generations and the importance of structural drivers of inequalities within and across generations. For adequate policy development it is crucial to elucidate the underlying social processes that underlie the emergence of inequalities over the life span. Population Ageing (2016) 9:1–7 DOI 10.1007/s12062-015-9138-7