_________________________________________________________________
E M P L O Y E E B E N E F I T S , C O M P E N S A T I O N
& P E N S I O N L A W
Vol. 3, No. 13: July 18, 2002
_________________________________________________________________
Publisher: LSN Employment, Labor, Compensation & Pension Journals
a division of
Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. (SSEP)
and Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Editor: PAMELA PERUN
Urban Institute
Mailto:pamela@planetnow.com
Copyright: SSEP, Inc. 2002. All rights reserved.
Leading Social Science Research Delivered To Your Desktop
http://www.SSRN.Com/
___________________________________________________________
Topic of This Issue:
International Aging
___________________________________________________________
SEARCHING THE SSRN ELECTRONIC LIBRARY
To search the entire SSRN Electronic Library by author, title,
JEL code, or full text of the abstracts in our database, please
visit http://papers.ssrn.com/
To browse all abstracts published in this journal, please visit
http://www.ssrn.com/link/benefits-compensation-pension-law.html
REDISTRIBUTION
Individual and professional subscriptions to the journal are for
single users. It is a violation of copyright to redistribute
this document electronically or otherwise without the explicit
permission of Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc.
Site licenses for organizations are available by contacting
Mailto:Site@SSRN.Com
SIGN OFF
To stop delivery of one or more of the SSRN journals, write to
Mailto:Remove@SSRN.Com Include the JOURNAL name or the NETWORK
name or ALL in the subject line. If your address has changed, let
us know by writing to Mailto:AddressChg@SSRN.Com
ALIGNMENT
If this document is misaligned, please set type face to a
non-proportional font such as Courier 10.
PAPER DOWNLOADS
If you need assistance downloading papers from our web site,
please contact Mailto:Support@SSRN.Com
T A B L E of C O N T E N T S
_________________________________________________________________
NEW and FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
"Early Retirement Programs and Wage Restraint: Empirical Evidence
from France"
Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Vol. 55, No. 3, April
2002
DAVID M. GRAY
University of Ottawa
Department of Economics
WORKING PAPERS
"Benefit Entitlement and the Labor Market: Evidence from a
Large-Scale Policy Change"
RAFAEL LALIVE
University of Zurich
Institute for Empirical Economic Research
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo
Institute for Economic Research)
JOSEF ZWEIMUELLER
University of Zurich
Institute for Empirical Economic Research
CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo
Institute for Economic Research)
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
"The Costs of Early Retirement in the OECD"
TRYGGVI THOR HERBERTSSON
University of Iceland
Institute of Economic Studies
J. MICHAEL ORSZAG
University of London, Birkbeck College
Department of Economics and Finance
"Elderly in the Labor Market"
ANA AMTLIA CAMARANO MELLO MOREIRA
Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA)
Directory of Macroeconomic Policy & Studies (DEMAC)
"Health and Work of the Elderly"
MAARTEN LINDEBOOM
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University)
Department of Economics
Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
MARCEL KERKHOFS
OSA Institute for Labour Studies, Tilburg
University
S S R N I N F O R M A T I O N
_________________________________________________________________
* Partners in Publishing
* Administrative Information
- Missing issues & change of address
- Solicitation of abstracts
* Directors
* Subscription to SSRN Journals
_________________________________________________________________
ACQUIRING PAPERS
Download papers directly from the included web address or contact
the author or other contact person directly. Provide an address
to which the author or other contact person can send a paper
copy and mention that you saw the abstract in SSRN. Some of
SSRN's Partners in Publishing require a subscription or charge a
fee for electronic downloads.
EDITORIAL POLICIES
To provide the broadest coverage of research in Employee
Benefits, Compensation & Pension Law we do not referee working
papers. We accept abstracts of working papers in Employee
Benefits, Compensation & Pension Law whose topics suit the
coverage of the journal and which are part of the worldwide
scholarly discourse.
N E W and F O R T H C O M I N G Articles
_________________________________________________________________
"Early Retirement Programs and Wage Restraint: Empirical Evidence
from France"
Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Vol. 55, No. 3, April
2002
BY: DAVID M. GRAY
University of Ottawa
Department of Economics
Contact: DAVID M. GRAY
Email: Mailto:Dmgray@uottawa.ca
Postal: University of Ottawa
Department of Economics
200 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5 CANADA
ABSTRACT:
Labor-force withdrawal programs such as government-subsidized
early retirement programs are an important unemployment policy
instrument in some European countries. Most economists, however,
have expressed doubts concerning these programs' efficacy in
combating unemployment, in part because they cause a reduction
in effective labor supply, which in turn places undue upward
pressure on the wage level. This paper analyzes the wage
pressure effects of the early retirement program in France in
1984-86. In contrast to most existing studies of such programs,
which have analyzed aggregate labor markets based on the country
as the unit of observation, the empirical analysis in this paper
employs a partial equilibrium framework and uses less
aggregated, sectoral data. The findings suggest, consistent with
results from most of the aggregate labor market studies, that
the early retirement program had a slight positive impact on
wage pressure.
Keywords: early retirement programs, wage pressure, France,
unemployment policy
JEL Classification: J23, J26, J31, J51
______________________________
W O R K I N G P A P E R Abstracts
_________________________________________________________________
"Benefit Entitlement and the Labor Market: Evidence from a
Large-Scale Policy Change"
BY: RAFAEL LALIVE
University of Zurich
Institute for Empirical Economic Research
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo
Institute for Economic Research)
JOSEF ZWEIMUELLER
University of Zurich
Institute for Empirical Economic Research
CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo
Institute for Economic Research)
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=304440
Other Electronic Document Delivery:
http://www.CESifo.de
SSRN only offers technical support for papers
downloaded from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
location. When URLs wrap, you must copy and paste
them into your browser eliminating all spaces.
Paper ID: CESifo Working Paper Series No. 694; IZA Discussion
Paper No. 444
Date: April 2002
Contact: JOSEF ZWEIMUELLER
Email: Mailto:zweim@iew.unizh.ch
Postal: University of Zurich
Institute for Empirical Economic Research
Bluemlisalpstrasse 10
CH-8006 Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Phone: +41 1 634 3724
Fax: +41 1 634 4907
Co-Auth: RAFAEL LALIVE
Email: Mailto:rlalive@iew.unizh.ch
Postal: University of Zurich
Institute for Empirical Economic Research
Bluemlisalpstrasse 10
CH-8006 Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Paper Requests:
Hardcopies For Libraries: contact Gertraud Porak, Postal: CESifo
Inc., Poschinger Str. 5, 81679 Munich, Germany.
Mailto:porak@CESifo.de
ABSTRACT:
This paper analyzes the impact of the Austrian Regional Extended
Benefit Program (REBP) on the labor market outcomes for elderly
workers in Austria. The REBP extended entitlement to regular
unemployment benefits from 30 weeks to a maximum of 209 weeks
for elderly individuals in certain regions. This policy change
created a large-scale quasi-experimental situation from which a
lot can be learned about the impact of unemployment insurance
rules on the dynamics of employment, unemployment, and wages. We
find that the REBP led to a tremendous increase in unemployment,
which was due to both an increase in the inflow to and the
outflow from unemployment. The REBP also induced a strong
increase in early retirement and in many cases, particular for
steel workers, entering unemployment meant withdrawal from the
labor force. Finally, we show that there were also
non-negligible effects of extended benefits on the level and the
distribution of wages.
Keywords: Quasi-experiments, Maximum Benefit Duration,
Unemployment Inflow, Duration of Unemployment, Early Retirement,
Earnings, Inequality
JEL Classification: H55, H23, E62
______________________________
"The Costs of Early Retirement in the OECD"
BY: TRYGGVI THOR HERBERTSSON
University of Iceland
Institute of Economic Studies
J. MICHAEL ORSZAG
University of London, Birkbeck College
Department of Economics and Finance
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=273370
Paper ID: Institute of Economic Studies Working Paper No. W01:02
Date: May 2001
Contact: TRYGGVI THOR HERBERTSSON
Email: Mailto:tthh@hi.is
Postal: University of Iceland
Institute of Economic Studies
Aragata 14
IS-101 Reykjavik, ICELAND
Phone: +354 525 4535
Fax: +354 525 4096
Co-Auth: J. MICHAEL ORSZAG
Email: Mailto:morszag@economics.bbk.ac.uk
Postal: University of London, Birkbeck College
Department of Economics and Finance
7-15 Gresse Street
London WIT 1LL, UNITED KINGDOM
ABSTRACT:
Despite substantial increases in longevity, the age of
retirement in the industrialized countries has steadily fallen
throughout most of the 20th century. In 13 OECD countries, the
employment-population ratio of 55-64-year-old males fell by an
average of more than 12 percentage points between 1979 and 1998.
Similarly, labor force participation rates for those 65 and
above have fallen significantly. The economic cost of the low
labor market participation, in terms of lost output, benefit
payments, and lower tax base is substantial. However, part of
the cost of low labor market participation is cyclical or
structural and, hence, separate from the costs of early
retirement. This paper develops a simple framework to assess the
specific costs of early retirement and applies it using data
from the OECD countries.
Keywords: Early retirement, labor supply/demand, foregone
output
JEL Classification: H55, J14, J21, J26
______________________________
"Elderly in the Labor Market"
BY: ANA AMTLIA CAMARANO MELLO MOREIRA
Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA)
Directory of Macroeconomic Policy & Studies (DEMAC)
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=296963
Other Electronic Document Delivery:
http://www.ipea.gov.br/pub/td/td_2001/td_0830.pdf
SSRN only offers technical support for papers
downloaded from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
location. When URLs wrap, you must copy and paste
them into your browser eliminating all spaces.
Paper ID: IPEA Working Paper No. 830
Date: October 2000
Contact: ANA AMTLIA CAMARANO MELLO MOREIRA
Email: Mailto:aac@ipea.gov.br
Postal: Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA)
Directory of Macroeconomic Policy & Studies
(DEMAC)
Av. Presidente Antonio Carlos 51
10 Andar Centro
Rio de Janeiro RJ 20020-010, BRAZIL
Phone: +55 21 212 1005
Fax: +55 21 240 1920
Note: The downloadable document is written in Portuguese.
ABSTRACT:
The paper analyzes the participation of Brazilian elderly in the
labor market from 1977 to 1998. This analysis is different from
traditional labor market analysis as the main focus is not with
the pressure that elderly can put on the labor market. The
objective is to look at their participation as an indicator of
dependence. Furthermore, the paper also examines the
contribution that Brazilian elderly brings to familial budget.
Finally, it calls attention to the fact that the elderly
population is already affecting the Brazilian labor force.
Elderly participation in labor force experienced little
changes through the studied time period. It did not seem
affected by the large increase in retired population. Among the
considered variables which can affect that participation, age
and education showed a great importance; age in a negative way
and education in a positive one. It is believed that both
reflect health conditions which seem to be an important
determinant of elderly labor force supply.
The participation of Brazilian elderly in labor market is high
considering international standards. This is related to the high
participation of retired population. About 50% of male elderly
and a third of female elderly on the labor market were retired
in 1998. This proportion increased over the studied time period.
Earnings from work are important in the elderly income and in
their families.
Keywords: elderly, labor market, retirement
JEL Classification: J14
______________________________
"Health and Work of the Elderly"
BY: MAARTEN LINDEBOOM
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University)
Department of Economics
Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
MARCEL KERKHOFS
OSA Institute for Labour Studies, Tilburg
University
Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=304339
Other Electronic Document Delivery:
http://www.tinbergen.nl/discussionpapers/02025.pdf
SSRN only offers technical support for papers
downloaded from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
location. When URLs wrap, you must copy and paste
them into your browser eliminating all spaces.
Paper ID: Tinbergen Institute Working Paper No. TI 02-025/3
Date: 2002
Contact: MAARTEN LINDEBOOM
Email: Mailto:mlindeboom@econ.vu.nl
Postal: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University)
Department of Economics
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Phone: +31 20 444 6033
Fax: +31 20 444 6020
Co-Auth: MARCEL KERKHOFS
Email: Mailto:m.j.m.kerkhofs@kub.nl
Postal: OSA Institute for Labour Studies, Tilburg University
Postbus 90153
5000 LE Tilburg, NETHERLANDS
ABSTRACT:
This paper aims to exp1ore the interre1ation between hea1th and
work decisions of e1der1y workers, taking the various ways in
which hea1th and work can influence each other exp1icitly into
account. For this, two issues are of re1evance. Se1f-assessed
health measures are usually at hand in empirical analyses and
research indicates that these may be affected by endogenous,
state dependent, reporting behavior. Furthermore, even if an
objective health measure is used, it is not likely to be
strictly exogenous to labor market status or labor income.
Health and labor market variables are correlated because of
unobserved individual-specific characteristics (e.g.,
investments in human capital and health capital). Moreover,
one's labor market status is expected to have a (reverse) causal
effect on health. A solution to the "Health and Retirement
Nexus" requires an integrated model for work decisions, health
production and health reporting mechanisms. We formulate such a
model and estimate it on a longitudinal dataset of Dutch
elderly.
Keywords: Retirement, health, endogeneity, state dependent
reporting errors