Fatal attraction? Extended unemployment benefits, labor force exits, and mortality

Andreas Kuhn, Stefan Staubli, Jean-Philippe Wuellrich and Josef Zweimüller ()

Journal of Public Economics, 2020, vol. 191, issue C

Abstract: We estimate the causal effect of a permanent and premature exit from the labor force on mortality. To overcome the problem of negative health selection into retirement, we exploit a policy change in Austria's unemployment insurance system that allows older eligible workers to exit the labor force 3 years earlier relative to comparable non-eligible workers. Using administrative data with precise information on mortality and retirement, we find that the policy change induces eligible men (women) to retire 5.5 (8.5) months earlier. Instrumental variable estimates show that for men retiring one year earlier causes a 5.5% increase in the risk of premature death and a 2.2 months reduction in the age at death but has no significant effect for women.

Keywords: Early retirement; Mortality; Health behavior; Instrumental variable (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I12 J14 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Related works:
Chapter: Fatal Attraction? Extended Unemployment Benefits, Labor Force Exits, and Mortality (2018)
Working Paper: Fatal Attraction? Extended Unemployment Benefits, Labor Force Exits, and Mortality (2018)
Working Paper: Fatal Attraction? Extended Unemployment Benefits, Labor Force Exits, and Mortality (2018)
Working Paper: Fatal Attraction? Extended Unemployment Benefits, Labor Force Exits, and Mortality (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:191:y:2020:i:c:s0047272719301483

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.104087

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