IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/labeco/v51y2018icp247-270.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The retirement age and the hiring of senior workers

Author

Listed:
  • Vigtel, Trond Christian

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of decreasing the distance to the minimum legal retirement age on the hiring of senior workers. Using variation brought about by a comprehensive old-age public pension reform in Norway in 2011, I identify a positive effect on the hiring of senior workers. The results suggest that the increase was mainly caused by a positive shift in the demand for “risky” senior workers (workers with prior sick-leave and blue-collar workers). This lends support to the notion that risk-averse firms are more willing to hire senior workers when the minimum legal retirement age is decreased.

Suggested Citation

  • Vigtel, Trond Christian, 2018. "The retirement age and the hiring of senior workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 247-270.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:51:y:2018:i:c:p:247-270
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2018.01.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537117302221
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.labeco.2018.01.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christian Manger, 2014. "Endogenous age discrimination," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 1087-1106, October.
    2. Mareva Sabatier & Bérangère Legendre, 2017. "The puzzle of older workers’ employment: distance to retirement and health effects," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 38(1), pages 45-61, April.
    3. Alfonso Sánchez-Martin & J. García-Pérez & Sergi Jiménez-Martín, 2014. "Delaying the Normal and Early Retirement Ages in Spain: Behavioural and Welfare Consequences for Employed and Unemployed Workers," De Economist, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 341-375, December.
    4. Hernæs, Erik & Markussen, Simen & Piggott, John & Røed, Knut, 2016. "Pension reform and labor supply," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 39-55.
    5. Schumann, Mathias, 2017. "The effects of minimum wages on firm-financed apprenticeship training," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 163-181.
    6. Kadija Charni, 2016. "The French Pension Reforms and their Impact on Unemployed Older Workers," AMSE Working Papers 1602, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France, revised Jan 2016.
    7. Weber, Andrea & Manoli, Dayanand, 2016. "The Effects of Increasing the Early Retirement Age on Employment of Older Workers," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145549, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Manoli, Dayanand & Weber, Andrea, 2016. "The Effects of the Early Retirement Age on Retirement Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 10154, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Saint-Paul, Gilles, 2009. "Does the Welfare State Make Older Workers Unemployable?," IZA Discussion Papers 4440, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Martins, Pedro S. & Novo, Alvaro A. & Portugal, Pedro, 2009. "Increasing the Legal Retirement Age: The Impact on Wages, Worker Flows and Firm Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 4187, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Gabaix, Xavier, 2015. "Behavioral Macroeconomics Via Sparse Dynamic Programming," CEPR Discussion Papers 11026, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Stephen Pudney & Monica Hernandez & Ruth Hancock, 2007. "The welfare cost of means-testing: pensioner participation in income support," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(3), pages 581-598.
    13. Edward Lazear, 2011. "Wages, productivity, and retirement," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(1), pages 17-35, February.
    14. Jean-Olivier Hairault & Francois Langot & Thepthida Sopraseuth, 2010. "Distance to Retirement and Older Workers' Employment: The Case for Delaying the Retirement Age," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 8(5), pages 1034-1076, September.
    15. Giorgio Brunello & Monica Langella, 2013. "Bridge jobs in Europe," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-18, December.
    16. Johannes Geyer & Clara Welteke, 2017. "Closing Routes to Retirement: How Do People Respond?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1653, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    17. Lazear, Edward P, 1979. "Why Is There Mandatory Retirement?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1261-1284, December.
    18. Vestad, Ola Lotherington, 2013. "Labour supply effects of early retirement provision," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 98-109.
    19. Samuel Muehlemann & Mirjam Strupler Leiser, 2015. "Ten Facts You Need To Know About Hiring," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0111, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Sep 2015.
    20. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2015. "Hiring Older Employees: Do the Age Limits of Early Retirement and the Contribution Rates of Firms Matter?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(1), pages 164-194, January.
    21. Behaghel, Luc & Crépon, Bruno & Sédillot, Béatrice, 2008. "The perverse effects of partial employment protection reform: The case of French older workers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3-4), pages 696-721, April.
    22. Daniel, Kirsten & Heywood, John S., 2007. "The determinants of hiring older workers: UK evidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 35-51, January.
    23. Hutchens, Robert, 1986. "Delayed Payment Contracts and a Firm's Propensity to Hire Older Workers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(4), pages 439-457, October.
    24. Walter Y. Oi, 1962. "Labor as a Quasi-Fixed Factor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(6), pages 538-538.
    25. Fredrik Heyman & Per Skedinger, 2016. "Employment Protection Reform, Enforcement in Collective Agreements and Worker Flows," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 662-704, October.
    26. Vegard Skirbekk, 2004. "Age and Individual Productivity: A Literature Survey," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 2(1), pages 133-154.
    27. Arjan Heyma & Siemen Werff & Aukje Nauta & Guurtje Sloten, 2014. "What Makes Older Job-Seekers Attractive to Employers?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 397-414, December.
    28. Martin Huber & Michael Lechner & Conny Wunsch, 2016. "The Effect of Firms’ Phased Retirement Policies on the Labor Market Outcomes of Their Employees," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 69(5), pages 1216-1248, October.
    29. Hernaes, Erik & Markussen, Simen & Piggott, John & Røed, Knut, 2015. "Pension Reform and Labor Supply: Flexibility vs. Prescription," IZA Discussion Papers 8812, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    30. Staubli, Stefan & Zweimüller, Josef, 2013. "Does raising the early retirement age increase employment of older workers?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 17-32.
    31. Dwyer, Debra Sabatini & Mitchell, Olivia S., 1999. "Health problems as determinants of retirement: Are self-rated measures endogenous?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 173-193, April.
    32. Behaghel, Luc & Crépon, Bruno & Sédillot, Béatrice, 2008. "The perverse effects of partial employment protection reform: The case of French older workers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3-4), pages 696-721, April.
    33. John Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn & Georgi Tsertsvardze, 2010. "Hiring older workers and employing older workers: German evidence," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 595-615, March.
    34. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2016. "The hiring and employment of older workers in Germany: a comparative perspective [Die Beschäftigung und Neueinstellung älterer Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland: Eine vergleichende Perspektive]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 49(4), pages 349-366, December.
    35. Welteke, Clara & Geyer, Johannes & Haan, Peter, 2016. "Early retirement eligibility and employment behavior: evidence from a cohort based pension reform," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145783, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    36. Barth, Erling & Moene, Karl O. & Willumsen, Fredrik, 2014. "The Scandinavian model—An interpretation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 60-72.
    37. Börsch-Supan, Axel & Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Kutlu Koc, Vesile & Goll, Nicolas, 2017. "Dangerous Flexibility – Retirement Reforms Reconsidered," MEA discussion paper series 201703, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    38. Michael D. Hurd, 1996. "The Effect of Labor Market Rigidities on the Labor Force Rigidities on the Labor Force," NBER Chapters, in: Advances in the Economics of Aging, pages 11-60, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    39. Kristiina Huttunen & Jarle Møen & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2011. "How Destructive Is Creative Destruction? Effects Of Job Loss On Job Mobility, Withdrawal And Income," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(5), pages 840-870, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kruse, Herman & Myhre, Andreas, 2021. "Early Retirement Provision for Elderly Displaced Workers," MPRA Paper 118689, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 21 Sep 2023.
    2. Du, Yao & Chan, Chia-Ying & Lin, Chih-Yung & Lu, Chien-Lin, 2023. "Charitable CEOs and employee protection," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Kruse, Herman & Myhre, Andreas, 2021. "Early Retirement Provision for Elderly Displaced Workers," MPRA Paper 109431, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Masayuki Okada, 2023. "The optimal earnings test and retirement behavior," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(4), pages 1036-1068, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2014. "Age segregation and hiring of older employees: low mobility revisited," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(8), pages 1090-1115, October.
    2. Kruse, Herman & Myhre, Andreas, 2021. "Early Retirement Provision for Elderly Displaced Workers," MPRA Paper 109431, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Geyer, Johannes & Haan, Peter & Hammerschmid, Anna & Peters, Michael, 2020. "Labor Market and Distributional Effects of an Increase in the Retirement Age," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    4. Kruse, Herman & Myhre, Andreas, 2021. "Early Retirement Provision for Elderly Displaced Workers," MPRA Paper 118689, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 21 Sep 2023.
    5. Ichino, Andrea & Schwerdt, Guido & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf & Zweimüller, Josef, 2017. "Too old to work, too young to retire?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 14-29.
    6. Frimmel, Wolfgang, 2021. "Later retirement and the labor market re-integration of elderly unemployed workers," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    7. Pawel Chrostek & Krzysztof Karbownik & Michal Myck, 2024. "Labor Market Externalities of Pre-Retirement Employment Protection," CESifo Working Paper Series 11078, CESifo.
    8. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2016. "The hiring and employment of older workers in Germany: a comparative perspective [Die Beschäftigung und Neueinstellung älterer Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland: Eine vergleichende Perspektive]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 49(4), pages 349-366, December.
    9. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2011. "Hiring older employees: Do incentives of early retirement channels matter?," Working Papers 268, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    10. Daniel Vuuren, 2014. "Flexible Retirement," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 573-593, July.
    11. Tito Boeri & Jan van Ours, 2013. "The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets: Second Edition," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10142.
    12. Engels, Barbara & Geyer, Johannes & Haan, Peter, 2017. "Pension incentives and early retirement," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 216-231.
    13. Octave Brouwer & Ilan Tojerow, 2024. "Old-age unemployment and labour supply: an application to Belgium," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 253-287, July.
    14. Heywood, John S. & Siebert, W. Stanley, 2009. "Understanding the Labour Market for Older Workers: A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 4033, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Messe, P.J., 2011. "Taxation of early retirement windows and delaying retirement: The French experience," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 2319-2341, September.
    16. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2015. "The German Labor Market for Older Workers in Comparative Perspective," Research Papers in Economics 2015-02, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    17. Pfeifer, Christian, 2009. "An Intra-Firm Perspective on Wage Profiles and Employment of Older Workers with Special Reference to Human Capital and Deferred Compensation," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-413, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    18. Stephan Humpert, 2012. "Age and Gender Differences in Job Opportunities," Working Paper Series in Economics 235, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    19. Simon Rabaté & Julie Rochut, 2017. "Employment and Substitution Effects of Raising the Statutory Eligibility Age in France," Working Papers halshs-01622346, HAL.
    20. Christine Mayrhuber & Silvia Rocha-Akis, 2013. "Anreizsysteme zur Weiterbeschäftigung älterer Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46905.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Retirement; Mobility; Pension reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:51:y:2018:i:c:p:247-270. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/labeco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.