Age Discrimination: An Historical and Contemporary Analysis

by John Macnicol

Overview

Age discrimination is a highly topical issue in all industrialized societies. Based upon detailed research, and adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this unique study traces the history of the age discrimination debate in Britain and the U.S. since the 1930s. It critically analyzes the concepts of ageism in social relations and age discrimination in employment. Case-studies on generational equity and health care rationing by age are followed by an analysis of the British government's initiatives against age discrimination in employment. The book then traces the history of the debate on health status and old age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521847773
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/12/2006
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

John Macnicol is Visiting Professor in Social Policy at the London School of Economics. He has published extensively on current social policy and the history of social policy, including The Politics of Retirement in Britain, 1878-1948 (Cambridge University Press, 1998).

Table of Contents

List of tables; Acknowledgements; Part I. Ageism and Age Discrimination: 1. Analysing ageism and age discrimination; 2. Justice between generations; Part II. The Current Revival of Interest in Britain: 3. New Labour and age discrimination; Part III. Retirement, Health Status and 'Work Disability': 4. Health status and old age; 5. From the late nienteenth century to the 1940s; 6. The 1950s and 1960s in Britain; 7. The recent debate; Part IV. America's Age Discrimination in Employment Act: 8. The age discrimination debate, from the 1920s to 1967; 9. From 1967 to the present; 10. Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

'The great virtue of John Macnicol's book is precisely that it forces the reader to question many of the assumptions that are often made in the debate about ageism, mandatory retirement and what the appropriate pensionable age should be … otherwise a book marked by wide-ranging scholarship and careful analysis.' Journal of Public Policy

'It merits wide reading by policy analysts, activists and gerontologists on both sides of the Atlantic.' History

From the Publisher