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Do Pensions Increase the Labor Supply of Older Men?

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  • Christopher J. Ruhm

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between pension coverage and the retirement behavior of older men. Pensions are associated with higher work involvement for males in their late fifties and early sixties but with lower rates of job holding for those aged 65 through 69. Age of entry into pension employment is shown to be positively correlated with future labor supply. When combined with evidence on age-specific changes in labor force participation rates, this pattern casts doubt on the hypothesis that broadened pension coverage explains a substantial portion of the trend toward earlier male retirement.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher J. Ruhm, 1994. "Do Pensions Increase the Labor Supply of Older Men?," NBER Working Papers 4925, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4925
    Note: AG LS
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    1. Christopher J. Ruhm, 1995. "Secular Changes in the Work and Retirement Patterns of Older Men," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(2), pages 362-385.
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    Cited by:

    1. Barry T. Hirsch & David A. Macpherson & Melissa A. Hardy, 2000. "Occupational Age Structure and Access for Older Workers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 53(3), pages 401-418, April.
    2. Ning, Manxiu & Gong, Jinquan & Zheng, Xuhui & Zhuang, Jun, 2016. "Does New Rural Pension Scheme decrease elderly labor supply? Evidence from CHARLS," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 315-330.
    3. Qi, Haodong & Helgertz, Jonas & Bengtsson, Tommy, 2018. "Do notional defined contribution schemes prolong working life? Evidence from the 1994 Swedish pension reform," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 250-267.
    4. Robert L. Clark & Joseph F. Quinn, 1999. "Effects of Pensions on Labor Markets and Retirement," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 431, Boston College Department of Economics.
    5. Laura Hospido & Gema Zamarro, 2014. "Retirement patterns of couples in Europe," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, December.
    6. Joseph F. Quinn & Michael Kozy, 1995. "The Roles of Part-time Work and Self-employment in the Retirement Transition: A Preliminary View from the HRS," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 292., Boston College Department of Economics.
    7. Feldstein, Martin & Liebman, Jeffrey B., 2002. "Social security," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 32, pages 2245-2324, Elsevier.
    8. Momota, Akira, 2003. "A retirement decision in the presence of a social security system," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 73-86, March.
    9. Xing Ji & Jingwen Xu & Hongxiao Zhang, 2022. "How Does China’s New Rural Pension Scheme Affect Agricultural Production?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, July.
    10. Xin Gao & Tieying Feng, 2020. "Public Pension, Labor Force Participation, and Depressive Symptoms across Gender among Older Adults in Rural China: A Moderated Mediation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, May.
    11. Sewin Chan & Ann Huff Stevens, 1999. "Job Loss and Retirement Behavior of Older Men," Departmental Working Papers 199823, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    12. Disney, Richard & Whitehouse, Edward, 1999. "Pension plans and retirement incentives," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 20851, The World Bank.
    13. Lingxiao Zhao & Gregory Burge, 2017. "Housing Wealth, Property Taxes, and Labor Supply among the Elderly," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 227-263.
    14. David Black & Yi-Ping Tseng & Roger Wilkins, 2009. "Examining the Role of Demographic Change in the Decline in Male Employment in Australia: A Propensity Score Re-weighting Decomposition Approach," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2009n24, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    15. Wang Dewen, 2010. "Can Social Security Boost Domestic Consumption in the People’s Republic of China?," Microeconomics Working Papers 21881, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    16. Wang Dewen, 2010. "Can Social Security Boost Domestic Consumption in the People’s Republic of China?," Working Papers id:2490, eSocialSciences.

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    JEL classification:

    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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