We study the welfare effects of disability insurance (DI) and derive social-optimality conditions for the two main DI policy parameters: (i) DI eligibility rules and (ii) DI benefits. Causal evidence from two DI reforms in Austria generate fiscal multipliers (total over mechanical cost...

Phased retirement has been discussed as a means for increasing labour supply for people of older active age. The idea is that instead of leaving a full-time job early for full-time retirement, an employee should reduce the working time either in the same job or by changing jobs, and stay on in...

The reform introduced in Poland in 2009 substantially and abruptly reduced the number of workers eligible for early retirement. This paper evaluates the causal effects of this reform on labor force participation and exit to retirement. We use rich rotating panel from the Polish Labor Force...

Using a survey module administered in late March 2020, we analyze how working hours change under the social distancing regulations enacted to fight the COViD-19 pandemic. We study the Netherlands, which are a prototypical Western European country, both in terms of its welfare system and its...

We explore the far-reaching implications of replacing current unemployment benefit (UB) systems by an unemployment accounts (UA) system. Under the UA system, employed people are required to make ongoing contributions to their UAs and the balances in these accounts are available to them during...

Older people experience high rates of depression and suicide, yet they make a positive net contribution to the economy through activities such as employment, volunteering, and looking after grandchildren. The wellbeing of older people is therefore important not only on moral but also economic...