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A Theory of Retirement

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  • David E. Bloom
  • David Canning
  • Michael Moore

Abstract

We construct a life-cycle model in which retirement occurs at the end of life as a result of declining health. We show that improvements in life expectancy, coupled with a delay in the onset of disability, increases both the optimal consumption level and the proportion of life spent in leisure. The retirement age increases proportionally less than the increase in life expectancy.

Suggested Citation

  • David E. Bloom & David Canning & Michael Moore, 2007. "A Theory of Retirement," NBER Working Papers 13630, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13630
    Note: AG EH LS
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David I. Laibson & Andrea Repetto & Jeremy Tobacman, 1998. "Self-Control and Saving for Retirement," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(1), pages 91-196.
    2. Laibson, David, 1998. "Life-cycle consumption and hyperbolic discount functions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(3-5), pages 861-871, May.
    3. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Bryan Graham, 2003. "Longevity and Life‐cycle Savings," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 105(3), pages 319-338, September.
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    11. Bloom, David E. & Canning, David & Mansfield, Richard K. & Moore, Michael, 2007. "Demographic change, social security systems, and savings," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 92-114, January.
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    16. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Michael Moore, 2004. "The Effect of Improvements in Health and Longevity on Optimal Retirement and Saving," NBER Working Papers 10919, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. T. Paul Schultz, 1999. "Health and Schooling Investments in Africa," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 67-88, Summer.
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    19. Courtney Coile & Jonathan Gruber, 2000. "Social Security and Retirement," NBER Working Papers 7830, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Moshe Hazan, 2009. "Longevity and Lifetime Labor Supply: Evidence and Implications," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(6), pages 1829-1863, November.
    2. Pestieau, Pierre & Ponthiere, Gregory, 2016. "Longevity Variations And The Welfare State," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(2), pages 207-239, June.
    3. Holger Strulik & Sebastian Vollmer, 2013. "Long-run trends of human aging and longevity," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(4), pages 1303-1323, October.
    4. Kuhn, Michael & Wrzaczek, Stefan & Prskawetz, Alexia & Feichtinger, Gustav, 2015. "Optimal choice of health and retirement in a life-cycle model," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 158(PA), pages 186-212.
    5. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Jocelyn E. Finlay, 2010. "Population Aging and Economic Growth in Asia," NBER Chapters, in: The Economic Consequences of Demographic Change in East Asia, pages 61-89, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Heenkenda, Shirantha, 2016. "The Determinants of Dropouts from Voluntary Pension Scheme: Evidence from Sri Lanka," MPRA Paper 72481, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Klaus Prettner & David Canning, 2012. "Increasing life expectancy and optimal retirement:does population aging necessarily undermine economic prosperity?," PGDA Working Papers 9112, Program on the Global Demography of Aging.
    8. Bloom, David E. & Canning, David & Hu, Linlin & Liu, Yuanli & Mahal, Ajay & Yip, Winnie, 2010. "The contribution of population health and demographic change to economic growth in China and India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 17-33, March.
    9. Daishin Yasui, 2012. "Adult Longevity and Growth Takeoff," Discussion Papers 1218, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    10. Qing-Ping Ma, 2017. "Contribution of interest rate control to China’s economic development," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 325-352, October.
    11. Bae, Se Yung & Jeon, Junkee & Koo, Hyeng Keun & Park, Kyunghyun, 2020. "Social insurance for the elderly," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 274-299.
    12. Alfonso Arpaia & Kamil Dybczak & Fabiana Pierini, 2009. "Assessing the short-term impact of pension reforms on older workers' participation rates in the EU: a diff-in-diff approach," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 385, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    13. Junkee Jeon & Hyeng Keun Koo & Yong Hyun Shin & Zhou Yang, 2021. "An Integral Equation Representation for Optimal Retirement Strategies in Portfolio Selection Problem," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 885-914, October.
    14. repec:dau:papers:123456789/6825 is not listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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