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Job Search Behavior At The End Of The Life Cycle

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Author Info
Hugo Benitez-Silva () (CRR)
Abstract

This paper presents one of the first formal dynamic models of job search by older individuals. It also presents an empirical analysis of job search behavior among this population using the Health and Retirement Study. Several factors currently compound to make the topic of this research an important one in the agenda of the Economics of Aging: ongoing demographic, epidemiological, socio-economic, technological, and labor market trends indicate that older Americans are more likely to be labor force participants beyond traditional retirement ages. Increasing longevity, improving health, strong labor market conditions, increasing labor supply flexibility stemming from an increase in part-time work and self-employment and the use of technological advances to promote second careers, and increasing labor force participation, make the study of search behavior at the end of the life cycle, in a formal theoretical and empirical model, an important contribution. Our findings show that older Americans actively search for new jobs, both on the job and when out of work, and that previous work attachment and health limitations are key to understanding the different job search behavior of employed and non-employed individuals, as well as males and females.

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Paper provided by Center for Retirement Research in its series Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College with number 2002-10.

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Date of creation: 04 Dec 2002
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Handle: RePEc:crr:crrwps:2002-10

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped
J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  33. Leora Friedberg, 1999. "The Impact of Technological Change on Older Workers: Evidence from Data on Computers," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series 99-11, Department of Economics, UC San Diego. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alicia H. Munnell & Steven A. Sass, 2007. "The Labor Supply of Older Americans," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2007-12, Center for Retirement Research, revised Jun 2007. [Downloadable!]
  2. Nicole Maestas & Xiaoyan Li, 2006. "Discouraged Workers? Job Search Outcomes of Older Workers," Working Papers wp133, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  3. Hugo Benítez-Silva, 2003. "The Annuity Puzzle Revisited," Working Papers wp055, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
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