Understanding the Effect of Retirement on Health: Mechanisms and Heterogeneity

This paper investigates the mechanisms behind the health effects of retirement. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design to exploit financial incentives in the German pension system for identification, I find that retirement improves subjective health status and mental health, while also reducing out...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health economics Vol. 43; pp. 1 - 12
Main Author: Eibich, Peter
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam Elsevier 01.09.2015
Elsevier B.V
Elsevier Sequoia S.A
Subjects:
Aged
Design engineering
Discontinuity
Economics
Exercise
Female
Financial incentives
Germany
Gesundheitsfürsorge
Health
Health Behavior
Health services
Health Services - utilization
Health Status
Healthcare
Heterogeneity
Humans
Identification
Incentives
Male
Mental disorders
Mental Health
Methode
Middle Aged
Models, Econometric
Monetary incentives
Occupational health
Occupational stress
Outpatient treatment
Pension plans
Pensions - statistics & numerical data
Personal Satisfaction
Physical exercise
Public health
Regression
Regression Analysis
Regression Discontinuity Design
Relief
Rentner
Retirement
Retirement - economics
Retirement - psychology
Retirement - statistics & numerical data
Sleep
Socioeconomic Factors
Studies
Subjective judgments
Subjectivity
Time use
Germany
Regression Discontinuity Design
Health
Health behavior
Healthcare
I12
J14
Retirement
J26
ISSN:0167-6296, 1879-1646
Online Access:Get full text
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Description
Summary:This paper investigates the mechanisms behind the health effects of retirement. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design to exploit financial incentives in the German pension system for identification, I find that retirement improves subjective health status and mental health, while also reducing outpatient care utilization. I explore a wide range of health behaviors, time use, and effect heterogeneity as potential mechanisms. Relief from work-related stress and strain, increased sleep duration as well as more frequent physical exercise seem to be key mechanisms through which retirement affects health.
Bibliography:Preprint
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ISSN:0167-6296
1879-1646
DOI:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2015.05.001