Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #109018

Luis Recuenco, Political and Social Sciences Department, Pompeu Fabra University, Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27, 08005 Barcelona, Spain, 93 542 27 01, luis.recuenco@upf.edu

Research objective: Examine longitudinally the role played by dynamic variables ( job characteristics, education, income and above all self-reported health status) on the risk of early retirement in EU-15 countries. Analyze the relationship between job characteristics and health status the year prior to retirement.

Data: Eight waves of the European Community Household Panel (1994 -2001)

Methods: First, time-dependent retirement hazard rate functions are estimated. Second, a logit regression model is developed to predict to what degree the retirement hazard rate depends on explanatory variables. Hazard rate functions and logit regression are elaborated clustering the European countries by welfare state traditions: Continental, Liberal, Social-democratic and Southern Europe.

Main results: Retirement in all of the EU-15 countries is driven to a greater degree by changes in health rather than by changes in income or other variables. Job characteristics such as being an unskilled worker are more strongly related to poor health than skilled occupations the year prior to retirement.

State recommendations or policy implications: Policy proposals oriented to increase the legal retirement age in the US and EU-25 must be sensitive to the ability of older workers in poor health, especially unskilled, to remain at work.

* I thank my doctoral supervisor Vicente Navarro (Johns Hopkins University and Pompeu Fabra University) for his helpful comments.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of my oral presentation, the participants will be able to

• Identify the main variables that influence the risk of early retirement.
• Asses the probability of falling into early retirement conditioned by self-reported health.
• Identify policies that can improve workers living conditions by ajusting age retirement to people's health.

Keywords: Workforce, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.