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The Impact of Health on Labor Supply Near Retirement

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Blundell

    (University College London)

  • Jack Britton

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Monica Costa Dias

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Eric French

    (University College London)

Abstract

Estimates of effect of health on employment differ from study to study due to differences in methods, data, institutional background and health measure. We assess the importance of these differences, using a unified framework to interpret and contrast estimate for the US and England. We find that subjective and objective health measures, and subjective measures instrumented by objective measures produce similar estimates but only if a sufficiently large number of objective measures is used. Otherwise, objective measures produce downward biased estimates. Failure to account for initial conditions produces upward biased estimates. We find that a single subjective health index yields similar estimates to multiple measures. Overall, declines in health explain up to 15% of the decline in employment between ages 50 and 70. The effects drop with education and are larger in the US than in England. Cognition has little added explanatory power once we control for health.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Blundell & Jack Britton & Monica Costa Dias & Eric French, 2017. "The Impact of Health on Labor Supply Near Retirement," Working Papers wp364, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
  • Handle: RePEc:mrr:papers:wp364
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    File URL: http://mrdrc.isr.umich.edu/wp364/
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. The impact of health on labour supply near retirement
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2018-02-20 19:27:23

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    3. Vandenberghe, Vincent, 2019. "Health, Cognition and Work Capacity Beyond the Age of 50," GLO Discussion Paper Series 295, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Jessamyn Schaller & Chase Eck, 2019. "Adverse Life Events and Intergenerational Transfers," Upjohn Working Papers 19-309, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    5. Vincent Vandenberghe, 2020. "The Rather Limited Role Of Mental Ill Health In Driving Work Beyond 50," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2020020, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    6. Vincent VANDENBERGHE, 2021. "Health, cognition and work capacity beyond the age of 50: International evidence on the extensive and intensive margins of work," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(2), pages 271-310, June.
    7. Chen, Wen-Hao, 2019. "Health and transitions into nonemployment and early retirement among older workers in Canada," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 193-206.
    8. Naoki Aizawa & Chao Fu, 2020. "Interaction of the Labor Market and the Health Insurance System: Employer-Sponsored, Individual, and Public Insurance," NBER Working Papers 26713, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Bryan, M.; & Roberts, J.; & Sechel, C.;, 2019. "The Effect of Mental Health on Employment:Accounting for Selection Bias," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 19/14, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    10. Anna Amilon & Mona Larsen, 2023. "Increasing retirement ages in Denmark: Do changes in gender, education, employment status and health matter?," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. , 2020. "Why Does Consumption Fluctuate in Old Age and How Should the Government Insure it?," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 40, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    12. Mark L Bryan & Nigel Rice & Jennifer Roberts & Cristina Sechel, 2022. "Mental Health and Employment: A Bounding Approach Using Panel Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(5), pages 1018-1051, October.
    13. White, Matthew N., 2023. "Self-reported health status and latent health dynamics," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Margherita Borella & Mariacristina De Nardi & Fang Yang, 2017. "The Effects of Marriage-Related Taxes and Social Security Benefits," NBER Working Papers 23972, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Sime Smolic & Ivan Cipin & Petra Medimurec, 2020. "How is health associated with employment during later working life in Croatia?," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 44(1), pages 99-116.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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