Stanovnistvo

Gender and Educational Inequalities in Active Ageing: Evidence from Slovakia in a European Context

2026-05-18T15:48:24+02:00

This study examines employment patterns among older workers in Slovakia compared to the European Union (EU), focusing on the Employment Domain of the Active Ageing Index (AAI). Using the Eurostat demographic data (2010–2024) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) AAI measurements (2010–2020), we investigate gender and educational gaps across the age cohorts 55–74. Drawing on cumulative advantage theory and institutional legacy frameworks, the study addresses three hypotheses regarding socialist-era legacies, progressive educational stratification, and retirement age effects. Slovakia experiences rapid demographic ageing, with the population aged 65+ growing more than twice as fast as the EU-27 average between 2010–2024, and the old-age dependency ratio increasing at more than double the EU-27 rate. Slovakia’s AAI ranking improved from the last place in 2010 to the 21st position in 2020. The study disaggregates Employment Domain scores by gender and educational attainment across all four age cohorts, an analysis not previously conducted for Slovakia within the AAI framework. Gender analysis reveals that Slovakia demonstrates one of the smallest employment gender gaps in the EU, substantially below the EU-28 mean, with particularly balanced outcomes in the 55–59 age cohort. The 60–64 age group shows maximum gender disparities across all EU countries, coinciding with retirement age transitions. Educational gaps widen dramatically with age, from a modest difference in the 55–59 cohort to more than three times higher employment rates for tertiary-educated workers in the 70–74 cohort, indicating progressive cumulative disadvantage for lower-educated older workers. The findings support Slovakia’s active ageing initiatives while highlighting urgent needs for targeted interventions: gradual retirement pathways for the 60–64 cohort, workplace health promotion in physically demanding occupations, and lifelong learning programmes addressing educational stratification.

Hearing children of deaf parents and the brokering role: reflection on gender roles

2025-09-07T13:26:05+02:00

Hearing children of deaf parents represent a relatively invisible minority in society. Often bilingual and bicultural, using both spoken and sign language, they frequently take on a brokering role, yet they are often insufficiently recognized and supported. It appears that girls tend to assume this role more often, indicating a potential gendered pattern in this practice. The problem addressed in this study lies in the insufficient exploration of the gender perspective in the domain of hearing children of deaf parents acting as language brokers. The aim is to illuminate how child language brokering by children of deaf adults contributes to the preservation, reproduction, and potential transformation of stereotypical gender roles. This aim is achieved through literature analysis in this field, including content from transcripts and their interpretations provided by authors, in research focusing on the experiences of hearing children of deaf parents and their brokering role. These are supplemented by findings from studies on Latino immigrant families that address gender aspects. Key findings indicate that the brokering role is perceived as more feminine, linked to caregiving and orientation towards others, and influenced by the expressive nature of sign language and deaf culture. The stigma associated with deafness may color this position with a subordinate status, distancing it from conventionally understood masculinity. Because of the above, boys may avoid this role as it conflicts with their gender role. The potential experience and expression of shame in this situation may further reinforce avoidance of these activities. On the other hand, girls may show a higher willingness and the potential sense of duty to perform it, as it aligns more with their gender role. Finally, recognizing and supporting children in these roles can foster transformation of stereotypical gender roles, reducing negative effects and reconceptualizing the role to include benefits such as responsibility, decisiveness, and independence, traits often associated with masculinity. Reframing like this could help girls in this role move beyond traditional gender norms while making it more approachable for boys, offering opportunities for both to practice behaviors outside conventional roles.

From Soviet Legacy to European Integration: Decent Work in Ukrainian Labor Reforms

2026-01-21T15:09:00+01:00

The article examines reforms of the labor legislation of Ukraine from the point of view of their compliance with international and constitutional norms, particularly the principles of the ILO and EU directives. A theory under consideration argues that decent work should serve as the foundation of social justice policy in a democratic state. The study emphasizes the importance of balancing the interests of employers and employees in the process of aligning Ukrainian labor legislation, particularly the draft Law “On Labor”, with EU standards. It also analyzes state regulation of employment and labor migration in order to clearly define the roles and funding sources of employment institutions. The article highlights the need to update the Law “On Employment of the Population”. Scrutiny is invited of legislative initiatives that could undermine Ukraine’s legal commitments and weaken both trade union institutions and democratic labor discourse.

Institutional Context and Generational Divisions among Bosniaks

2026-01-31T15:12:26+01:00

The study analyses generational divisions in value orientations and political preferences among Bosniaks in three post-Yugoslav states (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro). The aim is to determine whether contextual factors (institutional status and ethnopolitical mobilisation) shape the strength and manifestation of generational differences. Using a sample of 800 respondents and applying the PAPI method in 2022, the analysis tests hypotheses on the effects of formative experiences (the SFRY generation, the transitional generation, and the post-war generation) on religiosity, authoritarian traditionalism, economic orientations, and political preferences. The results indicate that contextual factors exert a stronger influence than generational affiliation itself. The country accounts for 7.7% of the variance in religiosity, whereas generation explains 3.4%. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosniaks display the most pronounced generational divisions, alongside a paradox in which the post-war generation is the most religious while simultaneously favouring civic-secular parties. In Serbia, the analysis identifies generational homogeneity, neutralised by reactive ethnicity. Montenegro represents the most complex constellation, where generational divisions overlap with an identity-nomination cleavage (Bosniak versus Muslim). The findings confirm Mannheim’s theory of formative experiences in Montenegro, partially support it in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and challenge it in Serbia, demonstrating that institutional context substantially shapes generational effects.

Retiree Dynamics in Slovenia and the Adequacy of Minimum Pensions in Relation to GDP

2026-04-30T15:43:02+02:00

Demographic ageing and the associated increase in the old-age dependency ratio pose significant challenges to the long-term sustainability of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension systems across Europe. Slovenia, as a post-transition economy, faces additional pressures in balancing fiscal sustainability with adequate income protection for retirees.

This paper aims to assess the evolution of pension adequacy and sustainability in Slovenia between 1991 and 2025, with particular emphasis on testing five research hypotheses (H1–H5) related to replacement rates, minimum pensions, pension expenditure, and the support ratio.

The study applies a longitudinal quantitative analysis based on data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS) and the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute of Slovenia (ZPIZ). Key indicators include the net replacement rate, minimum pension as a share of average wage, pension expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), and the support ratio. Comparative analysis with EU-27 benchmarks is complemented by a regression analysis, correlation analysis, and one-sample t-tests to evaluate the proposed hypotheses.

The findings indicate a clear divergence between adequacy and sustainability. Hypotheses H1, H2, and H3 are confirmed: minimum pensions have declined relative to wages, have not kept pace with GDP per capita, and remain significantly below the 40% adequacy threshold. In contrast, H4 and H5 are rejected: pension expenditure as a share of GDP has not increased relative to the EU average, and the support ratio, although declining, remains above the critical threshold of 1.5. These results suggest that fiscal sustainability has been maintained, while adequacy has weakened.

The Slovenian pension system demonstrates a structural trade-off between sustainability and adequacy. While fiscal discipline has been preserved, this has occurred at the expense of minimum income protection. Policy implications indicate that there is room for targeted reforms to improve pension adequacy without undermining long-term fiscal stability.

Demographic Shifts and the Residential Preferences of Young Adults in a Post-Socialist Context: The Case of Slovakia

2026-01-08T18:27:39+01:00

Slovakia is experiencing population ageing, declining fertility, and structural changes in the spatial distribution of young adults. This study examines demographic shifts among individuals aged 20–40 between 2011 and 2022 and evaluates how these trends align with the stated residential preferences of young adults. Using administrative data from the Slovak Social Insurance Company covering more than three million employed individuals, the study involved analyzing changes in population size, gender composition, employment, and housing type across urban cores, commuter zones, micropolitan centers, and rural municipalities. The research concentrates on the age group of 20–40-year-olds, as it is pivotal in terms of economic activity and child-rearing. The results were compared with long-term qualitative research on housing, family, and work preferences derived from the student essays collected since 2011. The findings reveal a substantial decline of the 20–40-year-old population, particularly in urban centers and socialist-era housing estates, alongside a relative demographic stability in commuter zones and selected rural areas. Gender imbalances persist, with the female-dominated urban regions and male-dominated rural areas influencing local fertility patterns. Overall, the findings show a persistent preference for suburban, low-density housing – characterized by detached housing and access to private outdoor spaces. These preferences remain stable across analyzed generations Y and Z) and are in contrast with the prevailing planning agendas that prioritize compact cities and inner-city densification. The main contribution of this research is its empirical challenge to the widely held assumption, common in urban economics and spatial planning, that demographic change among young adults necessarily reinforces urban concentration. The study concludes that housing and spatial policies should better reflect demographic realities and residential aspirations in an ageing post-socialist society.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Functional Transformation and Demographic Change in Small Towns in Serbia

2026-04-30T15:42:28+02:00

This paper examines the interrelation between functional transformation and demographic change in small towns in Serbia, focusing on temporal and spatial disparities and uneven development trajectories. Small towns are identified according to Eurostat methodology and its adaptation for Serbia (Degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) level 2). The analysis adopts a longitudinal perspective spanning four decades, based on the Census data for three selected years: 1981, the peak of industrial development; 2002, marking industrial collapse and transition; and 2022, which illustrates the current state. Functional transformation is explored through thenar diagrams, which capture employment shifts across the main economy’s sectors, harmonized and categorized in line with the official Classification of Activities. Results revealed a significant correlation between functional shifts and demographic trends, as well as the fact that functional transformation does not lead to uniform demographic outcomes across the small towns, but rather produces divergent development trajectories. Negative functional shifts associated with severe demographic decline are common for the small towns with a strong orientation toward the industry sector. Also, some of the small towns that faced a significant shift to the service economy experienced a pronounced demographic decline. Conversely, some towns demonstrate positive adjustment by restructuring their economies towards specific service activities and redefining their roles in the local development and settlements network. The findings challenge the assumption that tertiarization represents a sustainable development path for small towns. By linking long-term demographic change with functional restructuring, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of small-town development in post-socialist contexts.

The Integration Challenges in the Educational Context – A Comparative Perspective of the Refugees in Poland and in the Netherlands

2026-06-17T16:48:53+02:00

This text examines the specificities of migrants’ integration by analysing the attitudes and expectations of the Ukrainian war refugees in Poland and their integration into the public education system, with a comparative perspective on the experience of the Moroccan refugees in the Netherlands. In both situations, the everyday challenges of growing multiculturalism in school environments are approached. The analysis presents challenges in integrating foreign-born students and their families into the public education system and mainstream societies in both selected countries. In this research, the authors used standardised questionnaires with both closed- and open-ended questions, distributed to a group of teachers (N=101) working in a multicultural environment in Poland. The results are presented in the text, with an emphasis on the challenges of teaching and general work with foreign-born pupils both in the Netherlands and Poland. In the discussion, the authors propose a list of challenges for integration and coexistence, as well as the potential for future return migration. Finally, an overview of dos and don’ts regarding national policies for settling and integrating refugees is provided. Both examples are treated according to their potential to be generalised in the integrational context of public education policies, the school environment, and the challenges that arise when the multicultural environment of pupils, teachers, and parents becomes a new reality.

Whose Crisis, Whose Gain? The Socio-economic Consequences of Care Migration from Serbia to Germany

2026-03-27T16:19:57+01:00

This article investigates the phenomenon of care migration by analyzing the socioeconomic impacts associated with the internationalization of care work, using Serbia and Germany as case studies. Over recent decades, various social, economic, and demographic transformations have significantly affected the availability of both paid and unpaid care work. Notable trends—including population aging driven by declining fertility rates and increased life expectancy, reductions in average household size, and rising female labor force participation—have fundamentally reshaped the organization and provision of care services. These shifts have exacerbated the persistent global care crisis and underscored the growing role of migrant care workers in care provision. Drawing on the concepts of “global care chains” and “crisis of care”, this study analyzes the dynamics of care and migration, focusing on how policy and practice shape the integration of migrant care labor into transnational eldercare sector, with Serbia and Germany as illustrative cases. The article pursues three primary objectives: first, to assess care arrangements and the management of transnational care in both countries; second, to outline Germany’s policy strategies aimed at balancing care demand and supply in eldercare provision; and third, to evaluate Serbia’s responses to its care gaps within the national social policy framework. The findings indicate that Germany and Serbia face rising eldercare demand, but respond with unequal capacities. Germany expands services and recruits migrant workers, while Serbia relies on informal care amid workforce outflows. Embedded in global care chains, these strategies redistribute—rather than resolve—care deficits, reinforcing cross-national inequalities and long-term sustainability challenges.

Social inclusion of Roma through active labor market policies in Serbia

2025-12-05T12:56:50+01:00

Roma communities across Europe face persistent labor market exclusion, characterized by high unemployment, informal work, and limited access to formal employment. Despite numerous policy initiatives, evidence on the effectiveness of active labor market policies (ALMPs) targeting ethnic minorities remains scarce, largely due to the absence of ethnicity-disaggregated data. This paper evaluates the employment outcomes of a targeted ALMP program, "Inclusion of Roma and other Marginalized Groups in Serbia", implemented by German Development Cooperation in support of the National Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma in Serbia 2016–2025. The program provided vocational training, practical skills acquisition, and self-employment subsidies to Roma and returnees facing multiple barriers to labor market participation. Using data from an endline survey of 350 program participants conducted on average 14 months after registration, the paper examines changes in employment status, sectoral employment patterns, job quality, and participant satisfaction. The results show a substantial increase in employment — from 23.4% before the program to 65.2% after participation. The largest employment gains were recorded in industry (+48.2 percentage points), followed by other sectors (+46.4 p.p.), self-employment (+33.5 p.p.), and services (+27.2 p.p.). Most participants expressed satisfaction with the program: 78.6% received certificates and 63.3% found the acquired skills useful. However, job quality improvements remained limited, only 18% of those employed held permanent contracts and just 11.4% reported increased earnings attributable to the program. Regression analysis indicates that educational attainment was the strongest predictor of post-program employment, while gender and returnee status showed no significant effect. The findings suggest that ALMPs can be an effective tool for promoting labor market inclusion of highly marginalized populations, but sustained improvements in job quality and earnings require complementary investments in formal education and demand-side policies.

Local Governments as Missing Actors in Occupational Safety Governance

2026-04-09T20:03:25+02:00

Occupational safety and health (OSH) outcomes have been increasingly influenced not only by legal frameworks and workplace-level practices, but also by the governance capacity of institutions that act at the local or regional levels. This study aims to explore the role of local governments in multi-level OSH governance systems, which is an important knowledge gap in safety science literature where local governments have often been viewed as peripheral or supplementary actors. A qualitative comparative study approach is used in this study, with documentary study findings from Germany, Serbia, and Türkiye aimed at exploring how OSH governance influences local governments in OSH prevention, coordination, and crisis management. The findings of this study have revealed that European countries with multi-level governance systems that integrate local governments using formal mandates, coordination mechanisms, or preventive infrastructure have been more effective in OSH prevention, coordination, and crisis management. However, in the case of Türkiye, there is a highly centralized OSH system with limited integration of local governments, which is likely to have limited OSH prevention-oriented practices. The study on Serbia reveals that there is limited integration of local governments in OSH governance in the country, but with limited institutionalization. The findings of this study have revealed that local governments have been an important but not well-integrated part of OSH governance. A key recommendation of this study concerns the need of developing local institutional capacity in OSH governance.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Health-Vulnerable Workers: Legal Concepts and Future Directions

2026-01-08T12:01:24+01:00

The global normative framework for conceptualizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) is primarily shaped by non-binding, so-called soft law mechanisms, leaving companies to regulate this area internally. CSR generally refers to a voluntary commitment by companies to integrate ethical, social, and sustainability principles into their management and decision-making processes. A significant dimension of such voluntary engagement is the protection of vulnerable workers, particularly regarding their safety and health, which could be further strengthened and transformed into a legal obligation through the duty of care standard. This paper examines the role and place of CSR, from both labour law and company law perspectives, in enhancing the labour and social rights of health-vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities and workers with rare diseases. Using legal-theoretical, normative, and comparative methods, it explores how CSR initiatives can complement formal legal obligations, bridging gaps in protection and fostering more inclusive and equitable workplace practices.

The Geo-economic Landscape: A Market and Social Approach

2026-03-09T17:27:19+01:00

Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War

2025-03-21T01:28:19+01:00

Guest editor’s introduction

2026-05-24T22:35:26+02:00