Our health, our income and our social networks at older ages are the consequence of what has happened to us over the course of our lives. The situation at age 50+ reflects our own decisions as well as many environmental factors, especially interventions by the welfare state. This book explores the richness of 28,000 life histories in thirteen European countries, collected as part of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Combining these data with a comprehensive account of European welfare state interventions provides a unique opportunity to answer the important public policy questions of our time - how the welfare state affects people's incomes, housing, families, retirement, volunteering and health. The overarching theme of the welfare state creates a book of genuinely interdisciplinary analyses, a valuable resource for economists, gerontologists, historians, political scientists, public health analysts, and sociologists alike.

Our health, our income and our social networks at older ages are the consequence of what has happened to us over the course of our lives. The situation at age 50+ reflects our own decisions as well as many environmental factors, especially interventions by the welfare state. This book explores the richness of 28,000 life histories in thirteen European countries, collected as part of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Combining these data with a comprehensive account of European welfare state interventions provides a unique opportunity to answer the important public policy questions of our time how the welfare state affects people 's incomes, housing, families, retirement, volunteering and health. The overarching theme of the welfare state creates a book of genuinely interdisciplinary analyses, a valuable resource for economists, gerontologists, historians, political scientists, public health analysts, and sociologists alike.

Der Band stellt Ergebnisse der ersten Befragungswelle des Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) vor, in deren Rahmen mehr als 30.000 Personen im Alter 50plus aus 11 Landern befragt wurden. In acht Kapiteln werden verschiedene oekonomische, soziale und gesundheitliche Aspekte des Alterns in Deutschland und Europa beleuchtet. Darin spiegelt sich die disziplinare und thematische Vielfalt sowie das Forschungspotential des SHARE wider, das durch die Moeglichkeit von Langsschnittauswertungen zukunftig noch potenziert wird.