Leader: Manuela Stranges (UNICAL); Other collaborator(s): Bocconi, UNIBA, UNIBO
The very fabric of societies is based on cultural scripts about how the timing of life should be organized. When are adults considered to be “old”? When should crucial events in life, such as becoming parents and retiring happen? What are the differences between genders and socioeconomic groups in these cultural scripts. The interdisciplinary life course approach deals with these crucial cultural issues around age and ageing. This task will deal with these issues studying Italy in comparison to European societies, analysing data from the European Social Survey (“Timing of life” module).
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results
The work of our task is going ahead on several fronts.
Our main research focuses on social age at oldness. We are working on a first paper (authors: Francesco C. Billari, Manuela Stranges and Gessica Vella) which explores the existence on a double (by gender) and triple (by gender and education) standard of ageing in Europe. Using the European Social Survey (and, in particular, the Modules on the Timing of Life carried on in 2006/2007 and 2018/2019), we are analyzing the time changes, the differences across countries, the covariates positively or negatively related to the social age at oldness, focusing in particular on the role of education.
During this period, we have started an interlocutory phase with the Research Group of Task 6, WP3, Spoke 7 (Bocconi University) for the preparation of a joint field survey relating to age norms, with particular reference to social age at old age.
We have completed the first work, which is going to be submitted to a scientific journal within the end of 2024.
We are currently working on a second paper about the social age at retirement (authors: Francesco C. Billari, Manuela Stranges and Gessica Vella), which focuses on the temporal evolution and, in particular, on the differences between countries. We have carried on the bibliographic research and we are now starting the empirical analysis.
During this period, we have continued the coordination activity with Bocconi University for the preparation of a joint field survey relating to age norms, with particular reference to social age at old age. We have worked on the questionnaire, we have individualized and contacted the survey company, and we are currently starting with the test phase of the survey.
We have submitted the first work to a scientific journal.
We are currently working on the second paper about the social age at retirement (authors: Francesco C. Billari, Manuela Stranges and Gessica Vella), which focuses on the temporal evolution and, in particular, on the differences between countries. We have carried on the empirical analysis and we are finalising the manuscript.
During this period, we have continued the coordination activity with Bocconi University for the preparation of a joint field survey relating to age norms, with particular reference to social age at old age. We have worked on the questionnaire, we have individualized and contacted the survey company, and we are currently starting with the test phase of the survey.
The activities of the task are progressing steadily along several lines of work.
The main research line focuses on the study of social age at old age, with particular attention to gender and educational differences. Within this framework, the first research paper has been submitted, entitled: “The double standard of social ageing in Europe: the moderating role of education”; Authors: Gessica Vella, Manuela Stranges, Francesco C. Billari.
Using data from Round 9 (2018/19) of the European Social Survey, the paper investigates the existence of a Double Standard of Ageing, according to which ageing is perceived as a phenomenon that is more relevant for women than for men. The empirical results show that, in all countries included in the sample, women are on average perceived to become old earlier than men, and that men tend to emphasize these perceptions more strongly. Moreover, the estimates highlight the important role played by education. A moderating effect of education emerges in the interaction with gender, contributing to shaping perceptions of social ageing.
The second research paper has recently been completed, entitled: “Gendered attitudes toward retirement”. Authors: Francesco C. Billari, Manuela Stranges, Gessica Vella.
The paper examines perceptions of when individuals are considered “too young” to retire and what is regarded as the ideal retirement age. Exploiting a split-ballot design as a quasi-experimental setting and applying Coarsened Exact Matching combined with multilevel modelling, the study analyses how retirement perceptions vary by the gender of both respondents and evaluation targets, as well as across institutional contexts. The results show that framing retirement questions around women systematically lowers perceived normative and ideal retirement ages. This framing effect is significantly weaker among men, revealing gendered heterogeneity in the application of retirement norms. Education and institutional gender equality further structure retirement perceptions, with more gender-equal countries displaying later perceived retirement ages.
Conferences
2025
The first empirical research has been presented twice:
We will also present the results at the following conferences:
Publications
Billari, F. C., Stranges, M., & Vella, G. (2024). Diventare anziane, diventare anziani - i doppi standard. il Mulino, 73(4), 41 -50.
Accepted for publication:
Vella, G., Stranges, M. “Benessere soggettivo e salute percepita degli anziani in Europa”, Salute e Società Review.
Other activities
We are planning to organize a meeting to present the results of our WP at University of Calabria (may 2025).
The joint survey with Bocconi University is now complete and we are starting to analyse data in the following months. (2025/2026)