[Perspectives of work, age, health, and labor market participation in Germany]

The German population is aging and shrinking. This will have a significant impact on the labor market, because labor supply will start to shrink. Consequently, there is a need to develop additional labor market resources. In this setting, a crucial issue is the health and employment of the older working population. This article discusses--on the basis of nine articles in this special issue--the health of the working population in the context of work, age, and labor participation. It shows the diversity of morbidity in the work force in general and particularly in older age, and it identifies older labor force groups with good health and those with bad health. The latter shows that "working while having a bad state of health" is today's reality. Labor market participation is less dependent on health than on the "work ability" and/or the "motivation to work" of older workers. The employment dynamics of an aging population will be a key issue in future political debate. A reliable knowledge base is needed for proper discussion, judgment, and action in the economic, political, and social fields. Current research is often focused on subtopics or on subgroups; however, a network of all the related scientific disciplines and the establishment of new comprehensive research approaches are needed in this area.