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on Economics of Ageing |
| By: | Fischer, Justina AV; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso |
| Abstract: | Using pseudo-panel microdata we show that pension generosity affects early retirement decisions. The changes in the average replacement rate and decreases in wealth accrual between 1967 and 2004 have caused an increase in early retirement probabilities from 16% to 63%. |
| Keywords: | Early Retirement; Pension Systems; Pension Neutrality; Pension Generosity; SHARE. |
| JEL: | H55 J21 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:15940&r=age |
| By: | Shimizutani, Satoshi; Oshio, Takashi |
| Abstract: | The interval in time between leaving a career job and exit from the labor force is especially long for Japanese employees and separation from the career job often takes place due to mandatory retirement in Japan. Using micro-level data compiled by the Japanese Government, we examine determinants of post-career work arrangements from two perspectives: work status and the route to a second job. We show that these determinants differ between male and female workers and that the customary function of career employers to place their workers in a second job has declined since the middle of the 1990s. |
| Keywords: | mandatory retirement, postretirement arrangements, labor supply of the elderly, Japan |
| JEL: | J14 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:piecis:430&r=age |
| By: | Luigi Guiso; Tullio Jappelli; Mario Padula |
| Abstract: | Using a representative sample of Italian investors, we estimate the risk associated with pension benefits by eliciting for each individual the subjective distribution of the replacement rate as a summary indicator of social security wealth. We find substantial heterogeneity of pension risk and show that it is consistently related to observable features in the pension system that have different effects on individuals with different characteristics. We then relate subjective pension risk to individuals’ financial decisions. We find that people try to attenuate the adverse consequences of pension wealth uncertainty by increasing demand for targeted retirement saving and for insurance. Individuals facing more pension wealth risk tend to enroll more often in private pension funds, invest more in life insurance and buy more private health insurance. These effects are consistent with people becoming more risk-averse when pension wealth becomes less predictable, leading them to search for greater financial security. |
| Keywords: | Pension Risk, Retirement Saving, Insurance |
| JEL: | H55 E21 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2009/18&r=age |
| By: | Graf, Nikolaus (IHS - Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna); Hofer, Helmut (IHS - Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna); Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf (University of Linz) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we evaluate the impact of the old-age part-time scheme (OAPT) on the Austrian labour market which was a policy to allow flexible retirement options for the elderly with an aim to increase labour supply. According to our matching estimates employment probability increases slightly, especially in the first two years after entrance into the programme. Furthermore, the programme seems to reduce the measured unemployment risk. However, the total number of hours worked is significantly reduced by OAPT. While the policy is meant to reduce early exit from the labour force by allowing part-time work, our analysis indicates that most workers substitute part-time work for full-time work and thus the overall effect is rather negative. |
| Keywords: | evaluation of labour market programmes, labour supply of the elderly, nearest neighbour matching |
| JEL: | C31 J14 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4239&r=age |
| By: | Behncke, S |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of retirement on various health outcomes. Data stem from the ¯rst three waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). With this informative data, non-parametric matching methods can be applied to identify causal e®ects. It is found that retirement significantly increases the risk of being diagnosed with a chronic condition. In particular, it raises the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease and being diagnosed with cancer. Estimates also indicate that retirement has quite diverse effects for different individuals. |
| Keywords: | retirement, health, matching methods, ELSA |
| JEL: | I10 J14 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:09/11&r=age |
| By: | Frank T. Denton; Christine H. Feaver; Byron G. Spencer |
| Abstract: | We construct cohort working life tables for Canadian men and women aged 50 and older and, for comparison, corresponding period tables. The tables are derived using annual single age time series of participation rates for 1976-2006 from the master files of the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. The cohort calculations are based on stochastic projections of mortality coupled with alternative assumptions about future participation rates. Separate tables are provided for the years 1976, 1991, and 2006, thus spanning a period of substantial gains in life expectancy and strong upward trends in female participation. |
| Keywords: | Cohort working life tables |
| JEL: | J10 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:qseprr:432&r=age |
| By: | Cahit Guven; Rudolph Saloumidis |
| Abstract: | World life expectancy has risen by around 20 years in the last 50 years. This period has also witnessed rising happiness levels around the world suggesting that happiness might be one of the causes behind the decline in mortality. We investigate the relationship between happiness and mortality using the German Socio-Economic Panel. We consider doctor visits, self-reported health, and presence of chronic illness as health measures. After controlling for initial health conditions, we find that happiness extends life expectancy. 10 percent increase in happiness decreases probability of death by four percent, and this effect is more pronounced for men and younger people. Happiness plays a more important role for chronically ill people in decreasing mortality than for those who are not chronically ill. The positive influence of happiness on mortality can offset the negative impact of chronic illness. Marriage decreases mortality and this effect appears to work through increased happiness. |
| Keywords: | Happiness, mortality, health, chronic illness |
| JEL: | I10 I12 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp198&r=age |
| By: | Shimizutani, Satoshi |
| Abstract: | Although there exists a large volume of literature on the subject, a consensus on the labor supply effects of the social security earnings test for the elderly has yet to be reached. This study proposes an alternative approach of utilizing direct responses to a survey on the earnings test, a unique feature of our dataset compiled by the Japanese Government, to provide new evidence on the sensitivity of the labor supply decision of workers aged between 60 and 64 with respect to the earnings test. Our empirical results show that a large proportion of these workers are discouraged from working or reduce their working hours, even after correcting for observed attributes of individuals who reported either affected or unaffected. In addition, the revision of the test rules in 1995 did not alter the labor supply of the elderly. |
| Keywords: | social security earnings test, labor supply of the elderly, Japan, wage distribution, DiNardo-Fortin-Lemieux decomposition |
| JEL: | H55 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:piecis:429&r=age |
| By: | Maurer-Fazio, Margaret (Bates College); Connelly, Rachel (Bowdoin College); Lan, Chen (affiliation not available); Tang, Lixin (Bates College) |
| Abstract: | We employ data from the three most recent Chinese population censuses to consider married, urban women's labor force participation decisions in the context of their families and their residential locations. We are particularly interested in how the presence in the household of preschool and school-age children and/or the elderly and disabled affects women's likelihood of engaging in work outside the home. We find that the presence of older people in the household (any parent or parent-in-law and any person aged 75 or older) significantly increases prime-age urban women's likelihood of participating in market work and that presence of pre-school age children significantly decreases it. The negative effect on women's labor force participation of having young children in the household (compared to no children in the household) is substantially larger in magnitude for married, migrant women than for married, non-migrant urban residents. This appears to be explained, in part, by the practice of married, female migrants leaving their children in the care of relatives in rural areas in order to facilitate their employment. |
| Keywords: | labor force participation, China, childcare, eldercare, migrants, population census, urban women |
| JEL: | J11 J12 J13 J16 J22 O15 P23 R23 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4204&r=age |
| By: | Pandey, Manoj K. |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the trend and determinants of health and poverty among the elderly in rural India is analysed. Two rounds of National Sample Survey (NSS) data for the year 1995-96 and 2004 are employed. The analysis has been done with independent and pooled datasets. Our analysis shows that levels of consumption poverty have declined marginally between 1995-96 and 2004 while increased proportion of elderly with poor health status is continued. Results suggest that poverty is one of the key determinants of health among elderly in rural India. |
| Keywords: | health; poverty; elderly |
| JEL: | J14 I12 I32 |
| Date: | 2009–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:15926&r=age |
| By: | Takayama, Noriyuki |
| Abstract: | There arose a serious pension record-keeping problem in Japan from May 2007. Around 50 million pension records of social security were found to be floating, not being integrated to the unified pension numbers. The pending records are due to human errors made by enrollees, their employers and agencies. There has been no integrated collection of taxes and social security contributions in Japan, and additionally no monitoring organizations have been effectively implemented in pension administration. The general public was under the illusion that government officials were able to do and did everything correctly without committing any errors. However, human errors are inevitable anywhere. Regular and prompt examinations over possible errors are required for proper record-keeping of pensions. Upon any no-match identified, an interactive notification and confirmation with correction should follow in due course. The trustworthy government with its competent and neat implementation is, thus, the basis for any pension system. |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:piecis:433&r=age |