We examine how social security programs have affected the labor force participation (LFP) of the elderly over the past forty years in Japan. Using publicly available data, we construct forwardlooking incentive measures for inducing retirement, to ascertain the actual changes in the generosity of...

This paper examines whether social security programs induce a withdrawal of the elderly from the labor force and create jobs for the young in Japan. The key messages are summarized as follows. First, our historical overview suggests that young unemployment issues have not motivated social...