The effect of old age assistance on retirement

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Friedberg, L
• 署名单位: National Bureau of Economic Research; University of California System; University of California San Diego; University of California System; University of California San Diego
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2727(98)00068-1
• 发表日期: 1999
• 页码: 213-232
• 关键词: old age assistance; retirement; Social Security

摘要

Researchers have devoted considerable attention to analyzing the impact of Social Security on retirement, with mixed findings. However, the means-tested program Old Age Assistance (OAA) dwarfed Social Security until the 1950s and coincided with the early decline in elderly labor force participation. Also, OAA benefits were determined by the stares - a key source of policy variation. I estimate the relationship between OAA benefits and elderly participation using individual data from the 1940 and 1950 Censuses. OAA's impact is found to be strong and implies that participation would have risen slightly instead of falling if benefits had not increased during the 1940s. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All Rights Reserved.