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The extension of late working life in Germany: trends, inequalities, and the East-West divide

Author

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  • Christian Dudel

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Elke Loichinger

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Sebastian Klüsener

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Harun Sulak
  • Mikko Myrskylä

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

The extension of late working life has been proposed as a potential remedy for the challenges of aging societies. For Germany, surprisingly little is known about trends and social inequalities in the length of late working life. Here, we use data from the German Microcensus to estimate working life expectancy from age 55 onwards for the 1941-1955 birth cohorts. We adjust our calculations of working life expectancy for working hours, and present results for western and eastern Germany by gender, education, and occupation. While working life expectancy has increased across cohorts, we find strong regional and socioeconomic disparities. Decomposition analyses show that among males, socioeconomic differences are predominantly driven by variation in employment rates; whereas among women, variation in working hours is also highly relevant. Older eastern German women have longer working lives than older western German women, which is likely attributable to the GDR legacy of high female employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Dudel & Elke Loichinger & Sebastian Klüsener & Harun Sulak & Mikko Myrskylä, 2021. "The extension of late working life in Germany: trends, inequalities, and the East-West divide," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2021-018, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2021-018
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2021-018
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    Cited by:

    1. Henrik-Alexander Schubert & Christian Dudel & Marina Kolobova & Mikko Myrskylä, 2023. "Revisiting the J-shape: human development and fertility in the United States," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-022, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    2. Henrik-Alexander Schubert & Christian Dudel, 2024. "Too many men? Subnational population imbalances and male childlessness in Finland," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2024-010, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    3. Chiara Heller & Stefanie Sperlich & Fabian Tetzlaff & Siegfried Geyer & Jelena Epping & Johannes Beller & Juliane Tetzlaff, 2022. "Living longer, working longer: analysing time trends in working life expectancy in Germany from a health perspective between 2002 and 2018," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1263-1276, December.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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