Are Older Workers Willing to Learn?

Jens Ruhose (), Stephan Thomsen and Insa Weilage

No 8399, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Adult education can mitigate the productivity decline in aging societies if older workers are willing to learn. We examine a generous partial retirement reform in Germany that led to a massive increase in early retirement. Using county-level administrative data on voluntary education activities, we employ a difference-in-differences approach for identification. The estimates show a strong increase in participation in adult education, specifically in cognitively demanding courses, for early retirees who would have continued working in the absence of the reform. This supports the notion of an intrinsic willingness of older individuals to acquire skills and abilities independent of financial incentives.

Keywords: partial retirement; early retirement; older workers; adult education; generalized difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J14 J24 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Are Older Workers Willing to Learn? (2020)
Working Paper: Are Older Workers Willing to Learn? (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8399

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