Estimating the Health Effects of Retirement

36 Pages Posted: 22 Feb 2008

See all articles by John Bound

John Bound

University of Michigan; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Timothy Waidmann

The Urban Institute

Date Written: October 1, 2007

Abstract

We estimate the magnitude of any direct effect of retirement on health. Since retirement is endogenous to heath, it is not possible to estimate this effect by comparing the health of individuals before and after they retire. As an alternative we use institutional features of the pension system in the United Kingdom that are exogenous to the individual to isolate exogenous variation in retirement behavior. Data used will include both vital statistics and survey data that include both "objective" physical measurements and respondent self-reports. We find no evidence of negative health effects of retirement and some evidence that there may be a positive effect, at least for men.

Suggested Citation

Bound, John and Waidmann, Timothy, Estimating the Health Effects of Retirement (October 1, 2007). Michigan Retirement Research Center Research Paper No. UM WP 2007-168, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1082047 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1082047

John Bound (Contact Author)

University of Michigan ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Timothy Waidmann

The Urban Institute ( email )

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Washington, DC 20037
United States

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