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on Economics of Ageing |
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| By: | Michael P. Cameron (University of Waikato); Peggy Koopman-Boyden (University of Waikato); Matthew Roskruge (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | Along with many other countries, New Zealand is experiencing a rapid rise in the population of older people, both in absolute terms and also as a percentage of the overall population. Older people are increasingly likely to participate in formal employment beyond the age of pension eligibility (65 years in New Zealand). Earlier research has showed that working full-time reduces life satisfaction among New Zealanders 65 years and older, and that this relationship is robust to the inclusion of measures of job satisfaction or the desire to work more or fewer hours. In this paper we investigate the relationship between labour force participation and life satisfaction among older New Zealanders, with specific focus on the mediating role of human capital in the relationship. We utilise data from several waves of the New Zealand General Social Survey (n=5856), and account for the bias due to selection effects and endogeneity using instrumental variables analysis, and control for mental and physical health. Our identification strategy is to use gender, regional-level employment rates, and migration rates as instruments for labour force status. Our results suggest that, should improving wellbeing for older people become an explicit government priority, investing in reducing the push factors for older people to remain in the full-time employment may improve wellbeing. |
| Keywords: | labour force participation; retirement; subjective wellbeing; life satisfaction; human capital; New Zealand |
| JEL: | I31 J14 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:15/07&r=all |
| By: | Padmaja Ayyagari |
| Abstract: | Given concerns about the depletion of the Social Security Trust Fund, policymakers are considering several proposals to improve the financial sustainability of the program, including some that would lower benefits over time. The extent to which reductions in Social Security benefits impact individual health and well-being is not well understood. Using data from a nationally representative survey of older adults, we examine the impact of changes in Social Security income on a broad range of elderly health outcomes, including cognitive function, depression, disability and self-rated health. Prior literature has documented a positive association between income and health. However, this association may reflect unmeasured confounders that are correlated with both income and health (e.g. childhood environment) or may reflect the impact of health on income. To address these concerns and to identify the causal impact of income on health, we employ an instrumental variables strategy based on changes in Social Security income due to amendments to the Social Security Act in the 1970s. We discuss the implications of our findings for aging populations and for public policy. |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crr:crrwps:wp2015-25&r=all |
| By: | Gutierrez Emilio; Juárez González Laura; Rubli Adrian |
| Abstract: | This paper studies whether the increase in government transfers, induced by an old-age pension program for individuals age 70 and older in Mexico, affects co-residing children's school enrollment, using a regression discontinuity analysis. Results suggest that while household composition and other household-level characteristics do not change significantly at the cutoff age for program eligibility, co-residing children's school enrollment increases significantly. This suggests that public resources for older adults might generate benefits for other age groups. An additional finding is that the increase in school enrollment takes places mostly at the program eligibility cutoff and not before. Given that the program transfer is known and potentially anticipated by individuals who are only a few years away from being eligible, this suggests that households might have credit constraints. |
| Keywords: | Government transfers; school enrollment. |
| JEL: | J14 I25 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2015-09&r=all |
| By: | Yunus Aksoy (University of London); Ron P. Smith (University of London); Tobias Grasl (University of London); Henrique S. Basso (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | The effect of changes in demographic structure on medium-run trends of key macroeconomic variables is estimated using a panel VAR of 21 OECD economies. The panel data variability assists the identication of direct effects of demographics, while the dynamic structure uncovers long-term effects. Young and old dependants are found to have a negative impact while workers contribute positively. We propose a theoretical model, highlighting the relationship between demographics, innovation and growth, whose simulations match our empirical findings. The current trend of population aging and reduced fertility is found to reduce output growth and real interest rates across OECD countries |
| Keywords: | population age profile, medium-term, output growth, innovation, lifecycle |
| JEL: | E32 J11 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1528&r=all |
| By: | Ekaterina A. Klepikova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an analysis of the labor supply of Russian people in pensionable age. It aims to answer two questions: (1) whether bad health is an important limitation for labor activity and (2) whether a greater pension benefit could be a stimulus for delayed retirement. This is an empirical work based on data of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey - Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE) from 2000-2010. Findings suggest that the most important factor of labor supply is income, and it is more significant for people with higher education. Bad health contributes to leaving the labor force, but the effect is smaller than income’. Some policy implications are also suggested based on the empirical results of the study |
| Keywords: | labor supply, health, pensionable age, postponement of retirement, Russia, RLMS-HSE. |
| JEL: | C2 J1 J2 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:100/ec/2015&r=all |
| By: | Gianluca Misuraca (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Clelia Colombo (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Csaba Kucsera (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Stephanie Carretero (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Margherita Bacigalupo (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Raluca Radescu (Author-Workplace-Homepage:) |
| Abstract: | This report presents the results of the mapping and analysis of ICT-enabled social innovation initiatives promoting social investment through integrated approaches to the provision of social services, which was conducted as part of the research on ICT-Enabled Social Innovation in support of the Social Investment Package (SIP). The main goal of the research carried out by the European Commission's JRC-IPTS jointly with the Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, was to explore the potential contribution of ICT-enabled social innovation as an enabler of change in the EU Member States’ efforts to pursue active policies to prioritise social investment and modernise their welfare systems. More specifically, building on a review of existing literature and theoretical approaches, this report defines the state of the art in the field under investigation and develops the conceptual and analytical framework of the research. The report also provides an overview of the findings from analysis of initiatives from both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective. The results of the analysis of the empirical findings are illustrated through a 'Knowledge Map' of ICT-enabled social innovation initiatives promoting social investment through integrated approaches to the provision of social services, including a special focus on the area of active and healthy ageing and long-term care for older people. The report concludes by outlining implications and directions for future research. |
| Keywords: | Social policy, Innovation ICTs, Integration; Services |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc97467&r=all |
| By: | Bütikofer, A.;; Skira, M.; |
| Abstract: | How does medical innovation affect labor supply? We analyze how the availability of Cox-2 inhibitors, pharmaceuticals used for treating pain and inflammation, affected the sickness absence and disability pension receipt of individuals with joint pain. We exploit the market entry of the Cox-2 inhibitor Vioxx and its sudden market withdrawal as exogenous sources of variation in drug use. Using Norwegian administrative data, we find Vioxx's entry decreased quarterly sickness absence days among individuals with joint pain by 7-11 percent. The withdrawal increased sickness days by 12-21 percent and increased the quarterly probability of receiving disabilitybenefits by 0.4-0.6 percentage points. |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:15/13&r=all |
| By: | d'Albis, Hippolyte; Moosa, Dalal |
| Abstract: | This article provides a comprehensive picture of the National Transfer Accounts (NTA), a project that aims at measuring how people produce, consume, save, and share economic resources at every age. It stands today with a unique dataset that includes 47 countries from around the world, permitting a comparative understanding of economic flows within and between generations and over time. |
| Keywords: | Generational Economy, National Accounts |
| JEL: | C8 D10 D91 J1 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:67209&r=all |
| By: | Matúš Senaj; Zuzana Siebertová; Norbert Švarda; Jana Valachyová |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a revised microeconometric analysis of extensive margin labour supply elasticities in Slovakia. Compared to earlier analysis, we estimate the elasticities for males and females separately. We find that a one percent increase in net wage increases the probability of economic activity by 0.21 and 0.4 percentage points for males and females, respectively. Taking into account tax and transfer system details valid in Slovakia in 2009-2012, a one percent increase in transfers decreases the semi-elasticity of labour force participation by 0.03 percentage points for males and 0.05 percentage points for females. These results are broadly in line with the elasticities usually reported in the literature. Our results show that low-skilled, females and the elderly are the groups that are particularly responsive to changes in taxes and transfers. Labour market policies aimed to boost employment should concentrate on increasing marginal gains to work, especially for low-educated individuals and women. |
| Keywords: | labour supply elasticity, extensive margin, Heckman model, probit |
| JEL: | H31 H53 I38 J21 |
| Date: | 2015–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:dpaper:32&r=all |
| By: | Eleni Karagiannaki; Lucinda Platt |
| Abstract: | While there has been substantial research on the impacts of the Great Recession on household incomes, there has been less attention paid to the effects on individual income. Using pooled data from the Family Resources Survey, we address the question of which groups gained and which lost in terms of their individual income between 2005-8 and 2009-12. We investigate changes in median individual incomes and across the distribution by age, ethnicity, social class and housing tenure. We also explore the role of different income sources in overall income changes. We find that working age men faced lower individual incomes across the distribution after the recession compared to the earlier period. By contrast, pensioners’ incomes were protected. Working age women overall experienced individual income gains that largely came from higher labour income; but the pattern was more varied, with some groups of women losing out. The income gains that women in couples obtained were not sufficient to counterbalance the losses that men experienced. |
| Keywords: | individual incomes; Great Recession; income distribution; UK; working age; pensioners; gender; ethnicity; housing tenure |
| JEL: | D31 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:63906&r=all |