TY  - JOUR
AU  - Oshio, Takashi
AU  - Usui, Emiko
AU  - Shimizutani, Satoshi
TI  - Labor Force Participation of the Elderly in Japan
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 24614
PY  - 2018
Y2  - May 2018
DO  - 10.3386/w24614
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w24614
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w24614.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Takashi Oshio
E-Mail: oshio@ier.hit-u.ac.jp

Emiko Usui
Institute of Economic Research
Hitotsubashi University
2-1 Naka, Kunitachi
Tokyo 186-8603 Japan
Tel: 81-42-580-8348
Fax: 81-42-580-8348
E-Mail: usui@ier.hit-u.ac.jp

Satoshi Shimizutani
Institute for International Policy Studies
5th floor, Toranomon 5 Mori Building,
1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-0001 Japan
E-Mail: sshimizutani@gmail.com
M1  - published as Takashi Oshio, Emiko Usui, Satoshi Shimizutani. "Labor Force Participation of the Elderly in Japan," 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  - Japan experienced increases in labor force participation (LFP) of the elderly in recent years, as have other advanced countries. In the present study, we overview the employment trend of the elderly in Japan, and examine what factors have contributed to its increase since the early 2000s. Improved health and longevity, increasing education levels, and a shift towards less physically demanding jobs have allowed the elderly to stay longer in the labor force. However, elderly employment rebound and its timing are more closely linked to changes in social security incentives, especially increases in the eligibility age for public pension benefits. More broadly, reduced generosity in social security programs since the mid-1980s has been a key driver of the long-term trend change in elderly employment. A series of social security reforms have helped utilize the elderly’s potential work capacity, accumulated due to improving health conditions and other favorable factors for LFP in the elderly.
ER  -