Bourdieu’s capitals matter: tracking longer working lives across Europe

Abstract

Extending working lives is a major European policy goal, but the role of individual resources in retirement timing remains underexplored. To our knowledge, this study is the first to apply Bourdieu's theory of capitals as a framework for understanding how resources/capitals affect retirement decisions over time. Using Waves 6-9 of panel data from Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, the study employs exploratory factor analysis to identify forms of capital and multilevel, time-lagged logistic regression (observations nested within individuals) to explore how various forms of capital help older workers (N = 12,816) to remain in employment across three successive periods. The results show that human and health capital (dimensions of broader cultural capital) indeed help older adults to extend their working lives. The impact of other forms of capital (economic capital and dimensions of social capital) diminishes once relevant control variables are included, and the findings are robust across different time spans. Moreover, separate models by welfare regime capture substantial cross-European variation, with some capitals predicting retirement only in certain welfare regimes. Overall, Bourdieu's framework proves relevant in the current situation of population ageing and the digitalisation of economies. The paper suggests that policymakers should reflect on resource inequalities when developing measures to support longer working lives for those able to continue, while ensuring alternatives for those facing significant barriers.