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Understanding the Labour Market for Older Workers: A Survey

Author

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  • Heywood, John S.

    (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)

  • Siebert, W. Stanley

    (University of Birmingham)

Abstract

The paper asks why retirement can be so abrupt in countries such as France (½% of the workforce over 65), yet staged in Japan (8% over 65). We find part of the answer in tax laws that prevent people working and receiving a pension, and make little allowance for fair pension increases if retirement is deferred. While these laws have begun to change, we find another part of the answer in employment protection laws. These laws coupled with inflexible collectively agreed wages make employers choosy about hiring the old. The advent of "age discrimination" law reinforces employment protection and may well reduce older workers' hiring opportunities especially where wages are rigid.

Suggested Citation

  • Heywood, John S. & Siebert, W. Stanley, 2009. "Understanding the Labour Market for Older Workers: A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 4033, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4033
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Peng, Fei & Anwar, Sajid & Kang, Lili, 2017. "New technology and old institutions: An empirical analysis of the skill-biased demand for older workers in Europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-19.
    3. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2014. "Age segregation and hiring of older employees: low mobility revisited," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(8), pages 1090-1115, October.
    4. Alfonso R. Sánchez Martín & Sergi Jiménez Martín, 2021. "La compatibilidad del trabajo y el cobro de pensión en España: análisis institucional en el contexto europeo," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2021-11, FEDEA.
    5. Ilmakunnas, Pekka & Ilmakunnas, Seija, 2011. "Hiring older employees: Do incentives of early retirement channels matter?," MPRA Paper 30885, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Andrén, Daniela & Mudenda, Lackson Daniel & Pettersson, Nicklas, 2019. "Which firms employ older workers?," Working Papers 2018:14, Örebro University, School of Business.
    7. Ana Ostrovidov Jaksic & Ivan Jaksic, 2019. "How to prolong labour market participation in the Republic of Croatia?," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 43(1), pages 79-108.
    8. Pavel Breinek, 2018. "Problems of Older Workers on the Labour Market," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 66(4), pages 1073-1084.
    9. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2016. "The hiring and employment of older workers in Germany: a comparative perspective [Die Beschäftigung und Neueinstellung älterer Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland: Eine vergleichende Perspektive]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 49(4), pages 349-366, December.
    10. Garcia, Maria Teresa Medeiros & Fontainha, Elsa & Passos, José, 2017. "Hiring older workers: The case of Portugal," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 71-77.
    11. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2015. "The German Labor Market for Older Workers in Comparative Perspective," Research Papers in Economics 2015-02, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    12. Daniel Vuuren, 2014. "Flexible Retirement," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 573-593, July.
    13. Stephan Humpert, 2012. "Age and Gender Differences in Job Opportunities," Working Paper Series in Economics 235, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    age discrimination; older workers; deferred pay; mandatory retirement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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