Nonparametric Evidence on the Effects of Financial Incentives on Retirement Decisions

72 Pages Posted: 29 Aug 2011 Last revised: 30 Apr 2023

See all articles by Dayanand Manoli

Dayanand Manoli

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics

Andrea Weber

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO); Vienna University of Economics and Business; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Date Written: August 2011

Abstract

This paper presents new empirical evidence on the effects of retirement benefits on labor force participation decisions. We use administrative data on the census of private sector employees in Austria and variation from mandated discontinuous changes in retirement benefits from the Austrian pension system. We present graphical evidence documenting labor supply responses to the policy discontinuities. Next, we develop nonparametric procedures to estimate labor supply elasticities based on the graphical evidence and mandated financial incentives. We estimate elasticities of 0.12 for men and 0.38 for women. These relatively low elasticities highlight that many retirement decisions are likely to be affected by factors beyond only financial incentives from retirement benefits.

Suggested Citation

Manoli, Dayanand and Weber, Andrea Michaela and Weber, Andrea Michaela, Nonparametric Evidence on the Effects of Financial Incentives on Retirement Decisions (August 2011). NBER Working Paper No. w17320, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1918650

Dayanand Manoli (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics ( email )

8283 Bunche Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477
United States

Andrea Michaela Weber

Vienna University of Economics and Business ( email )

Welthandelsplatz 1
Vienna, 1020
Austria

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) ( email )

P.O. Box 91
Wien, A-1103
Austria

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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