Analysis

This chapter, entitled Senior Women, provides an overview of the situation of senior women in the population, analyzed from an historical perspective when applicable. We will examine their sociodemographic characteristics, including life expectancy, diversity, and family situation. Various factors are also associated with this population's well-being, such as social life, economic situation and health; we will therefore explore social networks and subjective well-being, volunteering, and the most recent trends in the labour force participation and income of senior women. Finally, we will present the most prevalent chronic health conditions in senior women, their lifestyle habits, the formal and informal care to which they have access, and the causes of death.

Comparative analysis of poverty dynamics incidence - transitions, and persistence - can yield important insights about the nature of poverty and the effectiveness of alternative policy responses. This manuscript compares poverty dynamics in four advanced industrial countries (Canada, unified Germany, Great Britain, and the United States) for overlapping six-year periods in the 1990s. The data indicate that poverty persistence is higher in North America than in Europe; for example, despite high incidence, poverty in Great Britain is relatively transitory. Most poverty transitions, and the prevalence of chronic poverty, are associated with employment instability and family dissolution in all four countries. The results also suggest that differences in social policy are crucial for the observed differences in poverty incidence and persistence between Europe and North America.

This chapter, entitled Senior Women, provides an overview of the situation of senior women in the population, analyzed from an historical perspective when applicable. We will examine their sociodemographic characteristics, including life expectancy, diversity, and family situation. Various factors are also associated with this population's well-being, such as social life, economic situation and health; we will therefore explore social networks and subjective well-being, volunteering, and the most recent trends in the labour force participation and income of senior women. Finally, we will present the most prevalent chronic health conditions in senior women, their lifestyle habits, the formal and informal care to which they have access, and the causes of death.

Comparative analysis of poverty dynamics incidence - transitions, and persistence - can yield important insights about the nature of poverty and the effectiveness of alternative policy responses. This manuscript compares poverty dynamics in four advanced industrial countries (Canada, unified Germany, Great Britain, and the United States) for overlapping six-year periods in the 1990s. The data indicate that poverty persistence is higher in North America than in Europe; for example, despite high incidence, poverty in Great Britain is relatively transitory. Most poverty transitions, and the prevalence of chronic poverty, are associated with employment instability and family dissolution in all four countries. The results also suggest that differences in social policy are crucial for the observed differences in poverty incidence and persistence between Europe and North America.