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Why Have the Labour Force Participation Rates of Older Men Increased Since the Mid 1990s

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  • T. Schirle

    () (Wilfrid Laurier University)

Abstract

This paper seeks to explain the substantial increases in older men’s labour force participation rates that have been observed since the mid-1990s. Using data from the U.S. March Current Population Survey, the Canadian Labour Force Survey, and the U.K. Labour Force Survey, I investigate the hypothesis that husbands treat the leisure time of their wives as complementary to their own leisure at older ages. I exploit the cohort effects driving recent increases in older women’s participation rates to identify the effect of a wife’s participation decision on her husband’s participation decision. Given this complementarity in leisure time, a large portion of the increase in older men’s participation rates may be explained as a response to the recent increases in older women’s participation in the labour force. The methodology of Dinardo, Fortin, and Lemieux (1996) is used to decompose the changes in older married men’s participation rates, demonstrating that increases in wives’ participation in the labour force can explain roughly one quarter of the recent increase in participation in the U.S., almost one half of the recent increase in participation in Canada, and roughly one third of the recent increase in the U.K. Older men’s educational attainment is also an important factor explaining recent increases in participation, yet cannot be expected to drive further increases in participation rates. In contrast, expected increases in older wives’ participation over the next decade are expected to drive further increases in older men’s participation rates.

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File URL: http://www.wlu.ca/documents/23772/lfp_increase_v1.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Wilfrid Laurier University, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number eg0045.

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Length: 57
Date of creation: 2007
Date of revision: 2007
Handle: RePEc:wlu:wpaper:eg0045

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Keywords: Labour force participation; leisure complementarity;

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Cited by:
  1. Laun, Lisa, 2012. "The effect of age-targeted tax credits on retirement behavior," Working Paper Series 2012:18, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
  2. Kevin Milligan, 2012. "The Long-Run Growth of Disability Insurance in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Historical Trends in Mortality and Health, Employment, and Disability Insurance Participatio, pages 359-389 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  3. Peter Hicks, 2012. "Later Retirement: the Win-Win Solution," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 345, March.
  4. Michael Baker & Kevin Milligan, 2012. "Disability Insurance Programs in Canada," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Historical Trends in Mortality and Health, Employment, and Disability Insurance Participatio, pages 327-358 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  5. Nicole Maestas & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2009. "How Longer Work Lives Ease the Crunch of Population Aging," Working Papers 728, RAND Corporation Publications Department.
  6. Michael Baker & Jonathan Gruber & Kevin Milligan, 2010. "The Interaction of Youth and Elderly Labor Markets in Canada," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: The Relationship to Youth Employment, pages 77-97 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  7. Rob Euwals & Marike Knoef & Daniel Vuuren, 2011. "The trend in female labour force participation: what can be expected for the future?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 729-753, May.
  8. Lefebvre, Pierre & Merrigan, Philip & Michaud, Pierre-Carl, 2011. "The Recent Evolution of Retirement Patterns in Canada," IZA Discussion Papers 5979, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  9. Håkan Selin, 2012. "What Happens to the Husband's Retirement Decision when the Wife's Retirement Incentives Change?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3772, CESifo Group Munich.
  10. Rosa Aísa & Fernando Pueyo & Marcos Sanso, 2012. "Life expectancy and labor supply of the elderly," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 545-568, January.
  11. Owen Haaga & Richard W. Johnson, 2012. "Social Security Claiming: Trends and Business Cycle Effects," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2012-5, Center for Retirement Research, revised Feb 2012.
  12. Chang, Hung-Hao & Yen, Steven T., 2011. "Full-time, part-time employment and life satisfaction of the elderly," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 815-823.
  13. Alicia H. Munnell & Dan Muldoon & Steven A. Sass, 2009. "Recessions and Older Workers," Issues in Brief ib2009-9-2, Center for Retirement Research, revised Jan 2009.
  14. Ricky Kanabar, 2012. "Unretirement in England: An empirical perspective," Discussion Papers 12/31, Department of Economics, University of York.
  15. D Leslie & D Blackaby & P Murphy & N OLeary, 2009. "The Employment and Earnings of Britains Senior Citizens," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 14(2), pages 1-26, September.

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