2007
Estimating the Health Effects of Retirement
We estimate the magnitude of any direct effect of retirement on health. Since retirement is endogenous to heath, it is not possible to estimate this effect by comparing the health of individuals before and after they retire. As an alternative…
Validating Life-Cycle Models: Lifetime Earnings and the Timing of Retirement
This paper provides a method for validating, and distinguishing between, different life-cycle models of consumption and labor supply. We derive qualitative predictions for two prominent life-cycle model formulations – having non-separable and separable in consumption and leisure – and we…
What Makes Retirees Happier: A Gradual or ‘Cold Turkey’ Retirement?
This study explores the factors that affect an individual’s happiness while transitioning into retirement. Recent studies highlight gradual retirement as an attractive option to older workers as they approach full retirement. However, it is not clear whether phasing or cold…
2006
The Excess Burden of Government Indecision
Governments are known for procrastinating when it comes to resolving painful policy problems. Whatever the political motives for waiting to decide, procrastination distorts economic decisions relative to what would arise with early policy resolution. In so doing, they engender excess…
Download: Conference Paper
View: Abstract
View: Abstract
Labor Market Status and Transitions during the Pre-Retirement Years: Learning from International Differences
Many western industrialized countries face strong budgetary pressures due to the aging of baby boom generations and the general trends toward earlier ages of retirement. The commonality of these problems has the advantage of offering an empirical laboratory for the…
Download: Conference Paper
View: Abstract
View: Abstract
The Importance of Objective Health Measures in Predicting Early Receipt of Social Security Benefits: The Case of Fatness
Theoretical models argue that poor health will contribute to early exit from thelabor market and the decision to take early Social Security retirement benefits (Old-Age or OA benefits). However, most empirical estimates of the causal importance of health on the…
Download: Conference Paper
View: Abstract
View: Abstract