Social Exclusion in Later Life: Interdisciplinary and Policy Perspectives (International Perspectives on Aging, 28)

Drawing on interdisciplinary, cross-national perspectives, this open access book contributes to the development of a coherent scientific discourse on social exclusion of older people. The book considers five domains of exclusion (services; economic; social relations; civic and socio-cultural; and community and spatial domains), with three chapters dedicated to analysing different dimensions of each exclusion domain. The book also examines the interrelationships between different forms of exclusion, and how outcomes and processes of different kinds of exclusion can be related to one another. In doing so, major cross-cutting themes, such as rights and identity, inclusive service infrastructures, and displacement of marginalised older adult groups, are considered. Finally, in a series of chapters written by international policy stakeholders and policy researchers, the book analyses key policies relevant to social exclusion and older people, including debates linked to sustainable development, EU policy and social rights, welfare and pensions systems, and planning and development. The book’s approach helps to illuminate the comprehensive multidimensionality of social exclusion, and provides insight into the relative nature of disadvantage in later life. With 77 contributors working across 28 nations, the book presents a forward-looking research agenda for social exclusion amongst older people, and will be an important resource for students, researchers and policy stakeholders working on ageing.

Kieran Walsh is Professor of Ageing & Public Policy and Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, National University of Ireland Galway. Prior to taking up this role in 2018, he served as Project Director of Project Lifecourse within the Institute for Lifecourse and Society, a programme of work dedicated to capturing the lived experiences of children and youth, older people and people with disabilities in urban neighbourhoods. Kieran's research interests include: social exclusion in later life; the mediating role of public and social policy; place and life-course transitions; and informal and formal infrastructures of care. Kieran is Chair of the European COST Action CA15122 on ‘Reducing Old-Age Social Exclusion’, which comprises over 180 members from 41 different countries.

Anna Wanka studied Sociology and Law at the University of Vienna, Austria. From 2009 to 2016 she worked as a researcher at the Research Group “Family / Generations / Life Course / Health and Ageing” at the Department of Sociology in Vienna, where she was involved in various third-party funded projects, completed several international research fellowships and international teaching appointments. She completed her PhD in the field of environmental gerontology in December 2016. Since 2017 she is a postdoc researcher at the research training group “Doing Transitions” at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Her main research areas lie in the field of environmental and social exclusion in later life, life course transitions, technology and ageing, as well as lifelong learning.