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Older Americans Would Work Longer If Jobs Were Flexible

Author

Listed:
  • John Ameriks

    (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)

  • Andrew Caplin

    (New York University)

  • Christopher Tonetti

    (Stanford University)

  • Joseph Briggs

    (Federal Reserve Board of Governors)

  • Matthew Shapiro

    (University of Michigan)

  • Minjoon Lee

    (Carleton University)

Abstract

Older Americans, even those who are long retired, have strong willingness to work, especially in jobs with flexible schedules. For many, labor force participation near or after normal retirement age is limited more by a lack of acceptable job opportunities or low expectations about finding them than by unwillingness to work longer. This paper establishes these findings using an approach to identification based on strategic survey questions (SSQs) purpose-designed to complement behavioral data. These findings suggest that demand-side factors are important in explaining late-in-life labor market behavior and may be the most appropriate target for policy aimed at promoting working longer.

Suggested Citation

  • John Ameriks & Andrew Caplin & Christopher Tonetti & Joseph Briggs & Matthew Shapiro & Minjoon Lee, 2018. "Older Americans Would Work Longer If Jobs Were Flexible," 2018 Meeting Papers 345, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed018:345
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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