Labor market status and transitions during the pre-retirement years
Subtitle: learning from international differences
By: Arie Kapteyn ... [et al.]
Contributors: Kapteyn, Arie.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series -- no. 13536.; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) -- working paper no. 13536.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 47
Subjects: Older people -- Employment -- United States; Older people -- Employment -- Europe; Labor market -- United States; Labor market -- Europe
Description: Many western industrialized countries face strong budgetary pressures due to the aging of the baby boom generations and the general trends toward earlier ages of retirement. We use the American PSID and the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) to explain differences in prevalence and dynamics of self-reported work disability and labor force status. To that end we specify a two-equation dynamic panel data model describing the dynamics of labor force status and self-reported work disability. When we apply the U.S. parameters to the equations for the thirteen European countries we consider, the result is generally that work disability is lower and employment is higher. Furthermore, measures of employment protection across the different countries suggest that increased employment protection reduces reentry into the labor force and hence is a major factor explaining employment differences in the pre-retirement years.
Notes: "October 2007"

Includes bibliographical references (p. 19-20).

Also available in PDF from the NBER world wide web site (www.nber.org).