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Food Expenditure and Involuntary Retirement: Resolving the Retirement-Consumption Puzzle

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  • Garry F. Barrett
  • Matthew Brzozowski

Abstract

International research has shown that household expenditure on nondurables significantly decreases at retirement - a finding that is inconsistent with the standard life-cycle model of consumption if retirement is anticipated. We analyze Australian panel data and find that the decline in grocery and food expenditure is explained by households forced to retire earlier than planned due to a health event or job-loss, which represent unanticipated wealth shocks. For most households retirement is anticipated and there is no decline in basic expenditures. However, for an important minority, retirement is 'involuntary' and these households experience a marked decline across the basic expenditure categories. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Garry F. Barrett & Matthew Brzozowski, 2012. "Food Expenditure and Involuntary Retirement: Resolving the Retirement-Consumption Puzzle," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 94(4), pages 945-955.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:94:y:2012:i:4:p:945-955
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ajae/aas030
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    Cited by:

    1. Allais, Olivier & Leroy, Pascal & Mink, Julia, 2020. "Changes in food purchases at retirement in France," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Zhu, Penghu & Lin, Boqiang, 2022. "Do the elderly consume more energy? Evidence from the retirement policy in urban China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    3. Rønnow, Helene Normann & Smed, Sinne & Tetens, Inge, 2024. "The (dynamic) effect of retirement on food purchases," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    4. Lok, Thomas M. & Tabri, Rami V., 2021. "An improved bootstrap test for restricted stochastic dominance," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 224(2), pages 371-393.
    5. Jim Been & Michael Hurd & Susann Rohwedder, 2014. "Responses of Time-use to Shocks in Wealth during the Great Recession," Working Papers wp313, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    6. Taotao Deng & Weishu Zhao & Yukun Hu, 2023. "Retirement and household tourism consumption—A case study in China," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(4), pages 1055-1073, June.
    7. Smed, Sinne & Rønnow, Helene Normann & Tetens, Inge, 2022. "The retirement (food)-consumption puzzle revisited - A panel data study from Denmark," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    8. Roger Wilkins, 2021. "Economic Wellbeing," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(4), pages 469-481, December.
    9. Li, Hongbin & Shi, Xinzheng & Wu, Binzhen, 2016. "The retirement consumption puzzle revisited: Evidence from the mandatory retirement policy in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 623-637.
    10. Kadir Atalay & Garry F. Barrett & Anita Staneva, 2020. "The effect of retirement on home production: evidence from Australia," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 117-139, March.
    11. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers tel-03575191, HAL.
    12. Owen Freestone & Robert Breunig, 2020. "Risk Aversion and the Elasticity of Intertemporal Substitution among Australian Households," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 96(313), pages 121-139, June.
    13. Kadir Atalay & Garry Barrett, 2022. "Retirement routes and the well-being of retirees," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(5), pages 2751-2784, November.
    14. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03575191, HAL.

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