Research Seed Grant | 2005-2006
Outsourcing, Deindustrialization, and Technological Change: The Effect of Changes in Labor Demand on Retirement Outcomes of Older Workers
by Till Von Wachter (International and Public Affairs)
This pilot study is concerned with the effects of changes in labor demand driven by industry restructuring, outsourcing, or technological change on retirement decisions and economic status of older workers. In light of the rapidly rising average age of the population and increasing burden on social security, it is crucial to understand the determinants of older workers' work decisions and their impact on well-being. Conventional wisdom linking retirement decisions to incentives in public and private pension systems and to increases in wealth has only partially been able to explain the strong trends towards early retirement since the 1960s. On the other hand, the U.S. labor market has undergone drastic changes in the last decades whose implications for retirement have found little attention in the literature. The project proposes to fill this gap in the literature by estimating the effect of employment shocks at the firm, industry, and state level on retirement decisions and income of older workers.
See Also
- Research Grant: Search, Firms, and Human Capital: Job Loss and the Shaping of Young Workers' Careers
