The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Asset and Health Dynamics Study (AHEAD) are large nationally representative panel surveys of individuals aged 51-61 and 70 or over respectively at baseline and their spouses. The objective of this paper is to find evidence about anchoring and...

The goal of this paper is to analyze a model to explain consumption by couples. It is an extension fo the model for singles by Yaari (1195), and therefore emphasizes the role of mortality risk. It also allows for what I call a "true" bequest motive, bequeathing by a couple to the next...

In the experimental module of the AHEAD 1995 data, the sample is randomly split into respondents who get an open-ended question on the amount of total family consumption - with follow-up unfolding brackets (of the form: is consumption $X or more?) for those who answer don t know or refuse - and...

Item non-response in household survey data on economic variables such as income, assets or consumption is a well-known problem.Follow-up unfolding bracket questions have been used as a tool to collect partial information on respondents that do not answer an open-ended question.It is also known,...

The traditional focus of disability research has been on the elderly, with good reason. Chronic disability is much more prevalent among the elderly, and it has a more direct impact on the demand for medical care. It is also important to understand trends in disability among the young, however,...

No abstract.

This study finds that on average those just past the usual retirement age are adequately prepared for retirement in that they will be able to follow a path of consumption that begins at their current level of consumption and then follows an age-pattern similar to that of current retirees. That...

It is well-established that differential mortality according to wealth or income introduces bias into age profiles of these variables when estimated on cross-sectional or synthetic cohort data. However, little is known about whether this association is also found with consumption, and if so, how...