TY  - JOUR
AU  - Coile, Courtney
TI  - Working Longer in the U.S.: Trends and Explanations
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 24576
PY  - 2018
Y2  - May 2018
DO  - 10.3386/w24576
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w24576
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w24576.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Courtney Coile
Department of Economics
Wellesley College
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA  02481
Tel: 781/283-2408
Fax: 781/283-2177
E-Mail: ccoile@wellesley.edu
M1  - published as Courtney C. Coile. "Working Longer in the United States: Trends and Explanations," in Courtney C. Coile, Kevin Milligan, and David A. Wise, editors, "Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Working Longer" University of Chicago Press (2019)

M3  - presented at "International Social Security Project (Working Longer)", May 1, 2018
AB  - Over the past two decades, labor force participation rates for older men have been rising, reversing a century-long trend towards earlier retirement.  Participation rates for older women are rising as well.  A number of theories have been put forward to explain the rise in participation at older ages, including improving mortality and health, increasing education and a shift towards less physically demanding work, and changes in employer-provided benefits and Social Security.  This paper documents trends in labor force participation and employment at older ages and in the factors that may be contributing to rising participation.  A review of these trends and of the relevant literature suggests that increases in education, women’s growing role in the economy, the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans, and Social Security reforms all likely played some role in the trend towards longer work lives.
ER  -