This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Labor Market Rigidities and the Employment Behavior of Older Workers

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
David M. Blau () (Ohio State University and IZA)
Tetyana Shvydko () (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The labor market is often asserted to be characterized by rigidities that make it difficult for older workers to carry out their desired trajectory from work to retirement. An important source of rigidity is restrictions on hours of work imposed by firms that use team production or face high fixed costs of employment. Such rigidities are difficult to measure directly. We develop a model of the labor market in which technological rigidity affects the age structure of a firm’s work force in equilibrium. Firms using relatively flexible technology care only about total hours of labor input, but not hours of work per worker. Older workers with a desire for short or flexible hours of work are attracted to such firms. Firms using a more rigid technology involving team production impose a minimum hours constraint, and as a result tend to have a younger age structure. A testable hypothesis of the model is that the hazard of separation of older workers is lower in firms with an older age structure. We use matched worker-firm data to test this hypothesis, and find support for it. Specification tests and alternative proxies for labor market rigidity support our interpretation of the effect of firm age structure on the separation propensity. These results provide indirect but suggestive evidence of the importance of labor market rigidities.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: ftp://repec.iza.org/RePEc/Discussionpaper/dp2996.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2996.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 48 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2996

Contact details of provider:
Postal: IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 228 3894 223
Fax: +49 228 3894 180
Web page: http://www.iza.org

Order Information:
Postal: IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Mark Fallak).

Related research
Keywords: labor demand; retirement; labor market institutions;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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.:
  1. John Rust & Christopher Phelan, 1997. "How Social Security and Medicare Affect Retirement Behavior in a World of Incomplete Markets," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(4), pages 781-832, July.
    Other versions:
  2. Coles, Melvyn G. & Treble, John G., 1996. "Calculating the price of worker reliability," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 169-188, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Robert Hutchens, 1988. "Do job opportunities decline with age?," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 42(1), pages 89-99, October.
  4. Leora Friedberg, 2003. "The impact of technological change on older workers: Evidence from data on computer use," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 56(3), pages 511-529, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Patrick Aubert & Eve Caroli & Muriel Roger, 2006. "New technologies, organisation and age: firm-level evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(509), pages F73-F93, 02. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Frank A. Scott & John Garen & Mark Berger, 1995. "Do health insurance and pension costs reduce the job opportunities of older workers?," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 48(4), pages 775-791, July.
  7. Alan L. Gustman & Thomas L. Steinmeier, 1984. "Partial Retirement and the Analysis of Retirement Behavior," NBER Working Papers 0763, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Michael D. Hurd, 1993. "The Effect of Labor Market Rigidities on the Labor Force Behavior of Older Workers," NBER Working Papers 4462, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Daniel S. Hamermesh & Stephen Donald, 2007. "The Time and Timing Costs of Market Work," NBER Working Papers 13127, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Katherine G. Abraham & Susan N. Houseman, 2004. "Work and Retirement Plans among Older Americans," Staff Working Papers 04-105, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Robert M. Hutchens & Karen Grace-Martin, 2006. "Employer willingness to permit phased retirement: Why are some more willing than others?," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 59(4), pages 525-546, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Leora Friedberg, 2000. "The Labor Supply Effects of the Social Security Earnings Test," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 48-63, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Bartel, Ann P & Sicherman, Nachum, 1993. "Technological Change and Retirement Decisions of Older Workers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(1), pages 162-83, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Burtless, Gary & Moffitt, Robert A, 1985. "The Joint Choice of Retirement Age and Postretirement Hours of Work," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(2), pages 209-36, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Nicole Maestas, 2004. "Back to Work: Expectations and Realizations of Work After Retirement," Working Papers wp085, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  16. Alan L. Gustman & Thomas L. Steinmeier, 1984. "Partial retirement and the analysis of retirement behavior," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 37(3), pages 403-415, April.
  17. Jonathan S. Leonard & David I. Levine, 2006. "Effect of diversity on turnover: A large case study," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 59(4), pages 547-572, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Ruhm, Christopher J, 1990. "Bridge Jobs and Partial Retirement," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(4), pages 482-501, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. John J. Abowd & John Haltiwanger & Julia Lane, 2004. "Integrated Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data for the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 224-229, May. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  20. Hellerstein, Judith K & Neumark, David & Troske, Kenneth R, 1999. "Wages, Productivity, and Worker Characteristics: Evidence from Plant-Level Production Functions and Wage Equations," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(3), pages 409-46, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  21. John Abowd & Bryce Stephens & Lars Vilhuber, 2006. "The LEHD Infrastructure Files and the Creation of the Quarterly Workforce Indicators," Technical Papers 2006-01, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS is also providing many rankings, for example of authors and institutions.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-9.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.