Erken Yaşlılık Döneminde Yoksulluk Sağlık Harcamaları ve İstihdam Arasındaki İlişki Sosyal Demokrat Refah Rejimi Ülkeleri Üzerine Bir Analiz

Abstract

Bu çalışma, sosyal demokrat refah rejimi içerisinde yer alan beş ülkede (İsveç, Norveç, Danimarka, Hollanda, Finlandiya) 2015–2022 dönemine ait verilerle yaşlı yoksulluğu, kamu sağlık harcamaları ve yaşlı istihdamı arasındaki ilişkiyi analiz etmektedir. Bulgular, yaşlı yoksulluğundaki artışın istihdamı teşvik ettiğini; sağlık harcamalarındaki artışın ise istihdamı azalttığını göstermektedir. Bu durum, sağlık sermayesi teorisinin öngördüğü biçimde, sağlık harcamalarının işgücünün sağlık düzeyini artırarak daha uzun süre çalışmayı mümkün kılacağı yönündeki beklentiyle çelişir görünmektedir. Çalışma, bu çelişkiyi sağlık harcamalarının üretkenliği değil, emekliliği mümkün kılan yaşam koşullarını güçlendirmesiyle açıklamaktadır. Bulgular, sağlık harcamalarının yaşlı bireylerin işgücü piyasasından gönüllü çekilmesini kolaylaştırdığını; buna karşılık gelir yoksunluğunun istihdamda kalmayı zorunlu hale getirdiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Elde edilen sonuçlar, sağlık sistemi tasarımı ile yaşlı istihdamı politikaları arasındaki ilişkinin daha dengeli biçimde ele alınması gerektiğine işaret etmektedir.

Keywords

• Yaşlı yoksulluğu
• yaşlı istihdamı
• kamu sağlık harcamaları
• sosyal demokrat refah rejimi

The Relationship Between Poverty, Health Expenditures and Employment in Early Old Age: An Analysis of Social Democratic Welfare Regime Countries

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between elderly poverty, public health expenditures, and elderly employment in five countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Finland) within the framework of the social democratic welfare regime, using data from 2015 to 2022. The findings reveal that increasing elderly poverty correlates with higher employment rates, while rising health expenditures are associated with a decline in elderly employment. This outcome appears to contradict the health capital theory, which posits that increased health spending enhances workforce health and thus extends working life. The study interprets this contradiction by suggesting that public health expenditures may not primarily boost productivity, but instead improve living conditions that facilitate voluntary retirement. Accordingly, health spending is found to ease the withdrawal of elderly individuals from the labor market, whereas insufficient income security forces them to remain employed. These findings highlight the need for a more balanced approach between health system design and active ageing labor market policies.

Keywords

• Elderly poverty
• elderly employment
• public health expenditures
• social democratic welfare regime

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