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Technological Change and the Careers of Older Workers

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  • Ann P. Bartel
  • Nachum Sicherman

Abstract

Recent research has shown that technological change has important labor market implications and in this paper we demonstrate one on the avenues through which this occurs. According to the theory of human capital, technological chanqe will influence the retirement decisions of older workers in two ways. First, workers in industries that are characterized by high rates of technological chanqe will have later retirement ages because these industries require larger amounts of on-the-job training. Second, an unexpected change in the industry's rate of technological change will induce older workers to retire sooner because the required amount of retraining will be an unattractive investment. We matched time-series data on rates of technological change and required amounts of training in 35 industrial sectors with data from the NLS Older Men Survey to test these hypotheses. Our results strongly support both hypotheses.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann P. Bartel & Nachum Sicherman, 1990. "Technological Change and the Careers of Older Workers," NBER Working Papers 3433, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3433
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edward P. Lazear, 1983. "Pensions as Severance Pay," NBER Chapters, in: Financial Aspects of the United States Pension System, pages 57-90, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    3. Blinder, Alan S & Weiss, Yoram, 1976. "Human Capital and Labor Supply: A Synthesis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(3), pages 449-472, June.
    4. Ann P. Bartel, 1989. "Formal Employee Training Programs and Their Impact on Labor Produc- tivity: Evidence from a Human Resources Survey," NBER Working Papers 3026, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Zvi Bodie & John B. Shoven, 1983. "Financial Aspects of the United States Pension System," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number bodi83-1.
    6. Mincer, Jacob & Higuchi, Yoshio, 1988. "Wage structures and labor turnover in the United States and Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 97-133, June.
    7. McKinley L. Blackburn & David E. Bloom, 1987. "The Effects of Technological Change on Earnings and Income Inequality inthe United States," NBER Working Papers 2337, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Yoram Ben-Porath, 1967. "The Production of Human Capital and the Life Cycle of Earnings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(4), pages 352-352.
    9. Bartel, Ann P & Lichtenberg, Frank R, 1987. "The Comparative Advantage of Educated Workers in Implementing New Technology," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 1-11, February.
    10. Edward P. Lazear, 1982. "Severance Pay, Pensions, and Efficient Mobility," NBER Working Papers 0854, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Casas, Pablo & Román, Concepción, 2023. "Early retired or automatized? Evidence from the survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).

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