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Earning Distribution and Labour Supply after a Retirement Earnings Test Reform

Author

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  • Hernæs, Erik

    (Frisch Centre for Economic Research)

  • Jia, Zhiyang

    (Statistics Norway,)

Abstract

Norwegian administrative data are used to evaluate the impact of a doubling of the threshold in the retirement earnings test. We find almost no impact on the extensive margin, but a positive effect on the intensive margin. This positive effect is uneven over the earnings distribution, and concentrated on workers around the threshold, increasing with exposure to the reform and leading to a decrease in earnings inequality. Individuals who remain active until retirement age respond more to the reform. Conditional on pre-reform earnings, we find little evidence that individual characteristics such as working histories influence the responsiveness to the reform

Suggested Citation

  • Hernæs, Erik & Jia, Zhiyang, 2012. "Earning Distribution and Labour Supply after a Retirement Earnings Test Reform," Memorandum 01/2012, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:osloec:2012_001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eric French, 2005. "The Effects of Health, Wealth, and Wages on Labour Supply and Retirement Behaviour," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(2), pages 395-427.
    2. Richard Disney & Sarah Smith, 2002. "The Labour Supply Effect of the Abolition of the Earnings Rule for Older Workers in the United Kingdom," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(478), pages 136-152, March.
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    5. Dahl, Svenn-Åge & Nilsen, Øivind Anti & Vaage, Kjell, 2002. "Gender Differences in Early Retirement Behaviour," Working Papers in Economics 02/02, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    6. Gruber, Jonathan & Orszag, Peter, 2003. "Does the Social Security Earnings Test Affect Labor Supply and Benefits Receipt?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 56(4), pages 755-773, December.
    7. Emmanuel Saez & Joel Slemrod & Seth H. Giertz, 2012. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 3-50, March.
    8. Song, Jae G. & Manchester, Joyce, 2007. "New evidence on earnings and benefit claims following changes in the retirement earnings test in 2000," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(3-4), pages 669-700, April.
    9. Engelhardt, Gary V. & Kumar, Anil, 2009. "The repeal of the retirement earnings test and the labor supply of older men," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(4), pages 429-450, October.
    10. Leora Friedberg & Anthony Webb, 2006. "Persistence in Labor Supply and the Response to the Social Security Earnings Test," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2006-27, Center for Retirement Research, revised Dec 2006.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Даниелян, Владимир, 2016. "Детерминанты Пенсионного Возраста: Обзор Исследований [Determinants of Retirement Age: A Review of Research]," MPRA Paper 73865, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Christian N. Brinch & Erik Hernæs & Zhiyang Jia, 2017. "Salience and Social Security Benefits," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 265-297.
    3. 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).
    4. Koyo Miyoshi & Taichi Tamura, 2017. "The Effects of a Change in the Social Security Earnings Test on the Japanese Elderly Male Labor Supply," Discussion papers ron296, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan.
    5. Hebous, Shafik & Jia, Zhiyang & Løyland, Knut & Thoresen, Thor O. & Øvrum, Arnstein, 2023. "Do Audits Improve Future Tax Compliance in the Absence of Penalties? Evidence from Random Audits in Norway," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 305-326.
    6. Dennis Fredriksen & Erling Holmøy & Birger Strøm & Nils Martin Stølen, 2015. "Fiscal effects of the Norwegian pension reform. A micro-macro assessment," Discussion Papers 821, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    7. Erik Hernæs & Zhiyang Jia & John Piggott & Trond Christian Vigtel, 2020. "Work less but stay longer. Mature worker response to a flexibility reform," Discussion Papers 937, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    8. Tucker S McElroy, 2022. "Stationary parameterization of GARCH processes," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 42(4), pages 1908-1930.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    retirement earnings test; benefit entitlement; labour supply behaviour; heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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