TY  - JOUR
AU  - Wise,David A.
AU  - Lumsdaine,Robin L.
TI  - Aging and Labor Force Participation: A Review of Trends and Explanations
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 3420
PY  - 1990
Y2  - August 1990
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3420
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3420.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
David A. Wise
Harvard Kennedy School
79 John F. Kennedy
Cambridge, MA   02138
E-Mail: dwise@nber.org

Robin L. Lumsdaine
Kogod School of Business
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
Tel: 202/885-1964
E-Mail: robin.lumsdaine@american.edu
M1  - published as Robin L. Lumsdaine, David A. Wise. "Aging and Labor Force Participation: A Review of Trends and Explanations," in Yukio Noguchi and David A. Wise, eds., "Aging in the United States and Japan: Economic Trends" University of Chicago Press (1994)

AB  - The American population is aging rapidly. Persons 65 and over who now constitute about one-fifth of the population will constitute about two-fifths of the population by 2040. In addition, individuals are living longer. Yet the labor force participation of older Americans has fallen dramatically in recent years. This paper discusses this trend and the principal arguments put forth to explain it. The paper is in two parts. The first part reviews trends in labor force participation and associated trends in Social Security (SS) coverage, firm pension plan coverage, and other factors that are likely to be associated with the labor force participation trends, including demographics. The second part of the paper discusses the incentive effects of SS and retirement plans, with emphasis on firm pension plans.
ER  -