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Joint Retirement in Couples: Evidence of Complementarity in Leisure

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  • Herman Kruse

Abstract

In this paper, I examine leisure complementarities in the joint retirement decisions of couples by quantifying the effect of the 2011 Norwegian pension reform. The reform abolished an earnings test on early retirement benefits for private‐sector workers, but not for public‐sector workers. I analyze population‐wide registry data on labor market participation, and I consider couples where the focal partner works in the public sector with a spouse employed either in the private sector (treatment group) or the public sector (control group). I find that spousal spillovers account for over 40 percent of the aggregate employment effect for women. They claim fewer early retirement benefits, and both men and women pay additional labor income taxes. In total, government budgets improved by approximately $46 million as a result of the spousal spillover effect between 2012 and 2015.

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  • Herman Kruse, 2021. "Joint Retirement in Couples: Evidence of Complementarity in Leisure," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(3), pages 995-1024, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:123:y:2021:i:3:p:995-1024
    DOI: 10.1111/sjoe.12427
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. García-Miralles, Esteban & Leganza, Jonathan M., 2024. "Joint retirement of couples: Evidence from discontinuities in Denmark," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    2. Andersen, Asbjørn Goul & Markussen, Simen & Røed, Knut, 2021. "Pension reform and the efficiency-equity trade-off: Impacts of removing an early retirement subsidy," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Bhuvanachithra Chidambaram & Joachim Scheiner, 2021. "Leisure Quality among German Parents—Exploring Urbanity, Mobility, and Partner Interaction as Determinants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, May.

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