IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/emx/esteco/v23y2008i1p89-127.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Labor Force Participation of Mexican Elderly: The Importance of Health

Author

Listed:
  • Edwin van Gameren

    (El Colegio de México, A. C.)

Abstract

The determinants of the labor force participation of people in Mexico aged 50 and over are analyzed using data of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). In particular we study the importance of health in the participation decision, taking into account the potential endogeneity of health. The results indicate that a better health causes a stronger attachment to the labor market. We find no clear evidence that employment affects health, but it cannot be ruled out that the effects of bad labor circumstances and justification eliminate each other. There are indications that self-assessed health does not capture all relevant aspects of health. For policy decisions the direct importance of financial circumstances could be more relevant than the role of health.

Suggested Citation

  • Edwin van Gameren, 2008. "Labor Force Participation of Mexican Elderly: The Importance of Health," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 23(1), pages 89-127.
    • Handle: RePEc:emx:esteco:v:23:y:2008:i:1:p:89-127
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://estudioseconomicos.colmex.mx/index.php/economicos/article/view/137/139
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bound, John & Schoenbaum, Michael & Stinebrickner, Todd R. & Waidmann, Timothy, 1999. "The dynamic effects of health on the labor force transitions of older workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 179-202, June.
    2. 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.
    3. Jerry Hausman, 2001. "Mismeasured Variables in Econometric Analysis: Problems from the Right and Problems from the Left," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 57-67, Fall.
    4. John Rust & Christopher Phelan, 1997. "How Social Security and Medicare Affect Retirement Behavior in a World of Incomplete Markets," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(4), pages 781-832, July.
    5. Richard Blundell & Costas Meghir & Sarah Smith, 2002. "Pension Incentives and the Pattern of Early Retirement," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(478), pages 153-170, March.
    6. John Bound, 1991. "Self-Reported Versus Objective Measures of Health in Retirement Models," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 26(1), pages 106-138.
    7. François‐Charles Wolff, 2005. "Disability and Labour Supply during Economic Transition: Evidence from Bulgaria," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 19(2), pages 303-341, June.
    8. Disney, Richard & Emmerson, Carl & Wakefield, Matthew, 2006. "Ill health and retirement in Britain: A panel data-based analysis," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 621-649, July.
    9. Currie, Janet & Madrian, Brigitte C., 1999. "Health, health insurance and the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 50, pages 3309-3416, Elsevier.
    10. Jonathan Gruber & David A. Wise, 2004. "Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Micro-Estimation," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number grub04-1.
    11. Smith, Richard J & Blundell, Richard W, 1986. "An Exogeneity Test for a Simultaneous Equation Tobit Model with an Application to Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(3), pages 679-685, May.
    12. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    13. Kalwij, Adriaan & Vermeulen, Frederic, 2005. "Labour Force Participation of the Elderly in Europe: The Importance of Being Healthy," IZA Discussion Papers 1887, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Jean-Marc Burniaux & Romain Duval & Florence Jaumotte, 2004. "Coping with Ageing: A Dynamic Approach to Quantify the Impact of Alternative Policy Options on Future Labour Supply in OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 371, OECD Publishing.
    15. Lumsdaine, Robin L. & Mitchell, Olivia S., 1999. "New developments in the economic analysis of retirement," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 49, pages 3261-3307, Elsevier.
    16. Stock, James H & Wise, David A, 1990. "Pensions, the Option Value of Work, and Retirement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(5), pages 1151-1180, September.
    17. Peter Adams & Michael D. Hurd & Daniel L. McFadden & Angela Merrill & Tiago Ribeiro, 2004. "Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise? Tests for Direct Causal Paths between Health and Socioeconomic Status," NBER Chapters, in: Perspectives on the Economics of Aging, pages 415-526, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Kerkhofs, Marcel & Lindeboom, Maarten & Theeuwes, Jules, 1999. "Retirement, financial incentives and health," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 203-227, June.
    19. Steven Stern, 1989. "Measuring the Effect of Disability on Labor Force Participation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 24(3), pages 361-395.
    20. Lixin Cai & Guyonne Kalb, 2006. "Health status and labour force participation: evidence from Australia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(3), pages 241-261, March.
    21. James P. Smith, 1999. "Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation between Health and Economic Status," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 145-166, Spring.
    22. Campolieti, Michele, 2002. "Disability and the labor force participation of older men in Canada," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 405-432, July.
    23. Kathryn H. Anderson & Richard V. Burkhauser, 1985. "The Retirement-Health Nexus: A New Measure of an Old Puzzle," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 20(3), pages 315-330.
    24. Romain Duval, 2003. "The Retirement Effects of Old-Age Pension and Early Retirement Schemes in OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 370, OECD Publishing.
    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. Robert Duval Hernández & Pedro Orraca, 2008. "A Cohort Analysis of Labor Participation in Mexico, 1987-2008," Working Papers DTE 440, CIDE, División de Economía.
    2. Duval Hernández, Robert & Orraca Romano, Pedro, 2009. "A Cohort Analysis of Labor Participation in Mexico, 1987-2009," IZA Discussion Papers 4371, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Martha Alicia Yánez Contreras & Cristian David Maldonado Pedroza & Katherin Paola Del Risco Serje, 2016. "Participación laboral de la población de 60 anos de edad o más en Colombia," Revista de Economía del Caribe 14790, Universidad del Norte.
    4. Edwin van Gameren & Durfari Velandia Naranjo, 2015. "Working and Caring: The Simultaneous Decision of Labor Force Participation and Informal Elderly and Child Support Activities in Mexico," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 52(2), pages 117-148, November.
    5. Edwin van Gameren, 2010. "Labor force participation by the elderly in Mexico," Serie documentos de trabajo del Centro de Estudios Económicos 2010-06, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos.
    6. Edwin Van Gameren & Durfari Velandia Naranjo, 2012. "Working and caring. The simultaneous decision of labor force participation, informal long-term care and childcare services in Mexico," Serie documentos de trabajo del Centro de Estudios Económicos 2012-16, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos.
    7. Bakhtin, Maxim & Aleksandrova, Ekaterina, 2018. "Health and labor force participation of elderly Russians," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 49, pages 5-29.
    8. Ajantha, Sisira Kumara & Tharaka, Sameera Senanayaka, 2012. "The Employment Status of the Elderly in Sri Lanka: Patterns and Determinants," MPRA Paper 42977, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 30 Nov 2012.
    9. V. P. Sanitha & J. K. Parida & I. C. Awasthi, 2019. "Health Conditions, Medication and Hospitalisation Preferences of Elderly in Kerala," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 13(3), pages 308-324, December.
    10. Ebaidalla Mahjoub Ebaidalla & Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali, 2018. "Chronic Illness and Labor Market Participation in Arab Countries: Evidence from Egypt and Tunisia," Working Papers 1229, Economic Research Forum, revised 10 Oct 2018.
    11. Durfari Velandia Naranjo & Edwin Gameren, 2016. "Precautionary Savings in Mexico: Evidence From the Mexican Health and Aging Study," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(2), pages 334-361, June.
    12. Murrugarra, Edmundo, 2011. "Employability and productivity among older workers : apolicy framework and evidence from Latin America," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 63230, The World Bank.
    13. Stabridis, Omar & van Gameren, Edwin, 2018. "Exposure to firewood: Consequences for health and labor force participation in Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 382-395.

    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. Manoj K Pandey, 2009. "Labor Force Participation among Indian Elderly: Does Health Matter?," Working Papers id:1987, eSocialSciences.
    2. Pandey, Manoj K., 2009. "Labor force participation among Indian elderly: does health matter?," MPRA Paper 15394, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Manoj K. Pandey, 2009. "Labor Force Participation among Indian Elderly: Does Health Matter?," ASARC Working Papers 2009-11, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    4. Deschryvere, Matthias, 2004. "Health and Retirement. An Update of the Literature," Discussion Papers 932, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    5. Adriaan Kalwij & Frederic Vermeulen, 2008. "Health and labour force participation of older people in Europe: What do objective health indicators add to the analysis?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(5), pages 619-638, May.
    6. Didier Blanchet & Thierry Debrand, 2007. "Aspiration à la retraite, santé et satisfaction au travail : une comparaison européenne," Working Papers DT1, IRDES institut for research and information in health economics, revised Feb 2007.
    7. Edwin van Gameren, 2010. "Labor force participation by the elderly in Mexico," Serie documentos de trabajo del Centro de Estudios Económicos 2010-06, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos.
    8. Zhang, Xiaohui & Zhao, Xueyan & Harris, Anthony, 2009. "Chronic diseases and labour force participation in Australia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 91-108, January.
    9. Erik Meijer & Arie Kapteyn & Tatiana Andreyeva, 2008. "Health Indexes and Retirement Modeling in International Comparisons," Working Papers 614, RAND Corporation.
    10. Kalwij, A.S. & Vermeulen, F.M.P., 2005. "Labour Force Participation of the Elderly in Europe : The Importance of Being Healthy," Other publications TiSEM c00729b8-27dc-42f8-9fba-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Owen O'Donnell & Eddy Van Doorslaer & Tom Van Ourti, 2013. "Health and Inequality," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-170/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    12. Didier Blanchet & Thierry Debrand, 2007. "Souhaiter prendre sa retraite le plus tôt possible : santé, satisfaction au travail et facteurs monétaires," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 403(1), pages 39-62.
    13. Didier Blanchet & Thierry Debrand, 2008. "The sooner, the better? Analyzing preferences for early retirement in European countries," Working Papers DT13, IRDES institut for research and information in health economics, revised Jul 2008.
    14. Courtney C. Coile, 2015. "Economic Determinants Of Workers’ Retirement Decisions," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 830-853, September.
    15. Doreen Wing Han Au & Thomas F. Crossley & Martin Schellhorn, 2005. "The effect of health changes and long‐term health on the work activity of older Canadians," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(10), pages 999-1018, October.
    16. Cai, Lixin, 2010. "The relationship between health and labour force participation: Evidence from a panel data simultaneous equation model," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 77-90, January.
    17. Ebaidalla Mahjoub Ebaidalla & Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali, 2018. "Chronic Illness and Labor Market Participation in Arab Countries: Evidence from Egypt and Tunisia," Working Papers 1229, Economic Research Forum, revised 10 Oct 2018.
    18. Bound, John & Stinebrickner, Todd & Waidmann, Timothy, 2010. "Health, economic resources and the work decisions of older men," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 156(1), pages 106-129, May.
    19. Lixin Cai & Guyonne Kalb, 2007. "Health status and labour force status of older working-age Australian men," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 10(4), pages 227-252.
    20. Thomas Barnay, 2010. "In which ways do unhealthy people older than 50 exit the labour market in France?," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 11(2), pages 127-140, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor force participation; health status; pensions; elderly;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions

    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:emx:esteco:v:23:y:2008:i:1:p:89-127. 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: Ximena Varela (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cecolmx.html .

    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.