According to the Hutchens (1999) model, early retirement is not explained as a result ofmaximizing expected individual utility but rather as a demand-side phenomenon arising froma firm’s profit-maximizing behaviour...

Using a novel dataset from the 2006 Portuguese Labor Force Survey this paper examinesthe impact of a voluntary reduction in hours of work, before retirement, on the moment of exitfrom the labor force. If, as often suggested, flexibility in hours of work is a useful measure topostpone retirement,...

This paper studies the presence of hours constraints on the UK labor market and its effect onolder workers labor supply, both at the extensive and the intensive margin. Using panel datafor the period 1991-2004, the results from a competing risks model show that over-employedmale workers can...

Despite the increased frequency of job loss for older workers in Europe, little is known on itseffect on the work-retirement decision. Employing individual data from the EuropeanCommunity Household Panel for Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K., a multivariatecompeting-risks hazard model is...

Several studies show that employees with firm-specific skills are more likely to be covered by employer-sponsored pension schemes than workers with general skills. Therefore it can be expected that workers with firm-specific skills retire earlier. This paper tests this prediction using US data...

A striking feature of labour supply in South Africa is the phenomenal expansion in the labourforce participation of women from 38 percent in 1995 to 46 percent in 2004. Even so, theirparticipation has been persistently lower than that of men whose participation rates were 58percent and 62...

Census data show that since 1980 low-skill workers in the United States have beenincreasingly employed in the provision of non-tradeable time-intensive services - such asfood preparation and cleaning - that can be broadly thought as substitutes of homeproduction activities. Meanwhile the wage...

We study long-run trends in market hours of work and employment shifts across economicsectors driven by uneven TFP growth in market and home production. We focus on thesubstitutions between market and home production and on the structural transformationbetween agriculture, manufacturing and...

To balance work and family responsibilities, the Netherlands have chosen a unique model that combines a high female employment rate with a high part-time employment rate. The model is likely to be the result of (societal) preferences as the removal of institutional barriers, like lower marginal...

We analyse how physicians respond to contractual changes and incentives within amultitasking environment. In 1999 the Quebec government (Canada) introduced an optionalmixed compensation system, combining a fixed per diem with a discounted (relative to thetraditional fee-for-service system) fee...