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Older Americans Would Work Longer If Jobs Were Flexible

Author

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  • Ameriks, John

    (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)

  • Briggs, Joseph

    (Federal Reserve Board of Governors)

  • Caplin, Andrew

    (New York University and NBER)

  • Lee, Minjoon

    (Carleton University)

  • Shapiro, Matthew D.

    (University of Michigan and NBER)

Abstract

Older Americans, even those who are long retired, have strong willingness to work, especially in jobs with flexible schedules. For many, labor force participation near or after normal retirement age is limited more by a lack of acceptable job opportunities or low expectations about finding them than by unwillingness to work longer. This paper establishes these findings using an approach to identification based on strategic survey questions (SSQs), purpose-designed to complement behavioral data. These findings suggest that demand-side factors are important in explaining late-in-life labor market behavior and need to be considered in designing policies aimed at promoting working longer.

Suggested Citation

  • Ameriks, John & Briggs, Joseph & Caplin, Andrew & Lee, Minjoon & Shapiro, Matthew D., 2018. "Older Americans Would Work Longer If Jobs Were Flexible," Research Papers 3743, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:3743
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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