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Unemployment, human capital depreciation and pension benefits: An empirical evaluation of German data

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  • Potrafke, Niklas

Abstract

This paper investigates empirically how unemployment-induced employment-breaks at different career stages influence pension benefits. The analysis is based on German data. I distinguish four different career phases and investigate to what extent the prevailing social security policy compensated for earning losses. The results suggest that (1) losses in pension benefits were the greatest if unemployment occurred in the middle of a career (between 31 and 50); (2) social security policies have had a mitigating effect on losses in pension benefits. These findings indicate that institutions have a decided influence on how career patterns translate into pension benefits. Copyright

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  • Potrafke, Niklas, 2012. "Unemployment, human capital depreciation and pension benefits: An empirical evaluation of German data," Munich Reprints in Economics 19271, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:19271
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    Cited by:

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    2. Pfister, Mona & Lorenz, Svenja & Zwick, Thomas, 2018. "Calculation of pension entitlements in the sample of integrated labour market biographies (SIAB)," FDZ Methodenreport 201801_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    3. Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati & Artur Tamazian, 2017. "Are Left-Wing Governments Really Pro-Labor? An Empirical Investigation for Latin America," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 129-160, February.
    4. Martin Biewen & Bernd Fitzenberger & Jakob de Lazzer, 2018. "The role of employment interruptions and part-time work for the rise in wage inequality," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-34, December.
    5. Matthias Seckler, 2022. "Increasing Inequality in Long‐Term Earnings: A Tale of Educational Upgrading and Changing Employment Patterns," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(3), pages 617-652, September.
    6. Oskar Jost, 2022. "See you soon: fixed-term contracts, unemployment and recalls in Germany—a linked employer–employee analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 601-626, August.
    7. repec:iab:iabfme:201801(en is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Seckler, Matthias, 2019. "Increasing inequality in lifetime earnings: A tale of educational upgrading and changing employment patterns," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 119, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    9. Patricia Peinado & Felipe Serrano, 2017. "Unemployment, wages and pensions," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(5), pages 670-680, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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