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Health care utilization at retirement: The role of the opportunity cost of time

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  • Claudio Lucifora
  • Daria Vigani

Abstract

We investigate the causal impact of retirement on health care utilization using SHARE data for 10 European countries. We show that the number of doctor's visits and the probability of visiting a doctor more than four times a year (our measures of health care utilization) increase after retirement. The increase in health care utilization is found to depend mainly on the years spent in retirement, suggesting that adjustment may take time. We find evidence of heterogeneous effects by gender and across different patterns of time use prior to retirement (i.e., working long hours and combined work and out‐of‐work activities). Overall, the empirical findings suggest that the increase in health care utilization is consistent with the decrease in the opportunity cost of time faced by individuals when they retire.

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  • Claudio Lucifora & Daria Vigani, 2018. "Health care utilization at retirement: The role of the opportunity cost of time," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(12), pages 2030-2050, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:27:y:2018:i:12:p:2030-2050
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3819
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    Cited by:

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    2. Terhi Ravaska, 2023. "Do reduced working hours for older workers have health consequences and prolong work careers?," Working Papers 6, Finnish Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research.
    3. Elsa Perdrix, 2021. "Does later retirement change your healthcare consumption ? Evidence from France," PSE Working Papers halshs-02904339, HAL.
    4. Eibich, Peter & Goldzahl, Léontine, 2021. "Does retirement affect secondary preventive care use? Evidence from breast cancer screening," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    5. Thang Dang, 2022. "Retirement and health services utilization in a low‐income country," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 597-620, July.
    6. Rønnow, Helene Normann & Smed, Sinne & Tetens, Inge, 2024. "The (dynamic) effect of retirement on food purchases," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    7. Clémentine Garrouste & Elsa Perdrix, 2022. "Is there a consensus on the health consequences of retirement? A literature review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 841-879, September.
    8. Mattia Filomena & Matteo Picchio, 2023. "Retirement and health outcomes in a meta‐analytical framework," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1120-1155, September.
    9. Oh, Byeung-Kuk, 2024. "Retirement and healthcare utilization: Evidence from pension eligibility ages in South Korea," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    10. Ravaska, Terhi, 2023. "Do reduced working hours for older workers have health consequences and prolong work careers?," Working Papers 153, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Qin Zhou & Karen Eggleston & Gordon G. Liu, 2021. "Healthcare utilization at retirement in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(11), pages 2618-2636, November.
    12. Fátima Barbosa & Sara Simões Dias & Gina Voss & Alice Delerue Matos, 2023. "The Longitudinal Association between Co-Residential Care Provision and Healthcare Use among the Portuguese Population Aged 50 and Over: A SHARE Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-14, February.
    13. Kuusi, T. & Martikainen, P. & Valkonen, T., 2020. "The influence of old-age retirement on health: Causal evidence from the Finnish register data," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    14. Leimer, Birgit & van Ewijk, Reyn, 2022. "No “honeymoon phase”: whose health benefits from retirement and when," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    15. Elsa Perdrix, 2021. "Does later retirement change your healthcare consumption ? Evidence from France," Working Papers halshs-02904339, HAL.
    16. Rose, Liam, 2020. "Retirement and health: Evidence from England," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. Comi Simona Lorena & Cottini Elena & Lucifora Claudio, 2022. "The effect of retirement on social relationships," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 23(2), pages 275-299, May.
    18. Brenna, Elenka & Giammanco, Maria Daniela, 2024. "The use of voluntary health insurance in the access to specialist care: Evidence from the Italian NHS," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    19. Barschkett, Mara & Geyer, Johannes & Haan, Peter & Hammerschmid, Anna, 2022. "The effects of an increase in the retirement age on health — Evidence from administrative data," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation

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