This dissertation studies household income and consumption. In the first chapter, I identify the causal effect of retirement on health service utilization in China. In the second chapter, I investigates the impact that retirement has on the family support network of “sandwich” generations in China. In the third chapter, I propose a new estimator for linear quantile regression models with generated regressors, and apply it to study Engel curves for various commodity consumption for families in the UK. In the first chapter, I apply a regression discontinuity design by exploiting the exogenous mandatory retirement age rules in China in order to identify the causal effect of retirement on health service utilization. In China, the social insurance Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) provision continues after individuals retire. Employees, however, stop paying the premium and enjoy reduced cost sharing after they retire. Individual medical expenses, insurance costs, and benefits are recorded in the China Household Finance Survey 2013 (CHFS). Significantly, males and females respond differently to this decrease in the relative price of health insurance at the time of retirement. Females are generally more willing to increase their out-of-pocket expenditures in order to take advantage of better health insurance benefits and utilize more medical care. Males, by contrast, do not respond to this change in relative price in the same manner. In the second chapter, I investigates the impact that retirement has on the family support networks of “sandwich” generations in China. These middle-aged households have an inter-generational support network that includes both upward transfers (their parents or parents-in-law), as well as downward transfers (their children). I use micro data from CHARLS (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study) concerning middle-aged and elderly households in order to evaluate the changes that retirement can have on this family support network, primarily by exploiting the exogenous mandatory retirement age rules in China. I make the identifying assumption that inter-generational transfers would evolve more smoothly if households would not retire and apply a regression discontinuity approach. I find that retirement induces “sandwich” generations to switch roles in the private network as well as in the public transfer channel; indeed, is 55 percentage point more likely that households will switch from resource providers to resource recipients in the channel of private transfers. In addition, these “sandwich” generations are about 47 percentage point more likely to receive money from their non-coresident children when they retire. In the third chapter, we studies estimation and inference for linear quantile regression models with generated regressors. We suggest a practical two-step estimation procedure, where the generated regressors are computed in the first step. The asymptotic properties of the two-step estimator, namely, consistency and asymptotic normality are established. We show that the asymptotic variance-covariance matrix needs to be adjusted to account for the first-step estimation error. We propose a general estimator for the asymptotic variance-covariance, establish its consistency, and develop testing procedures for linear hypotheses in these models. Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the finite-sample performance of the estimation and inference procedures are provided. Finally, we apply the proposed methods to study Engel curves for various commodities using data from the UK Family Expenditure Survey. We document strong heterogeneity in the estimated Engel curves along the conditional distribution of the budget share of each commodity. The empirical application also emphasizes that correctly estimating confidence intervals for the estimated Engel curves by the proposed estimator is of importance for inference.

This study used an explorative quantitative survey method for the purpose of examining bullying among older adults in retirement homes and the consequences of bullying among this population. The study also explored the type of bullying that occurs in the community. Senior community centers were the significant domains in which to research bullying among older adults because it involved immersion of the researcher into an environment of older adults who knew one another and have witnessed or have been victims of bullying in their retirement home communities. The primary purpose of this investigation was to enhance research on bullying among older adults in retirement homes. Another purpose of this research was to address the consequences of bullying in older adults and to address mental and physical consequences of bullying addressed in previous research. Currently there is not much research done on bullying among older adults. This study found that many older adults living in retirement homes are being bullied and many of them are not speaking up and isolating themselves for the purpose of avoiding their bullies. Moreover, this study shows that staff members of the retirement communities are lacking the knowledge of the bullying problem in their community. The study suggests that future studies on bullying among older adults include qualitative research to determine if older adults understand the difference of bullying and “just being grumpy” and also explore a qualitative research regarding the perpetrator of bullying and not the victims of bullying.

The shift to defined contribution plans from defined benefit plans have left future retirees concerned about having the necessary funds to retire. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how investment behaviors have changed due to losses in retirement accounts because of the global financial crisis of 2008. Building upon the conceptual framework of attribution theory and risk perception theory, this study explored what might encourage future retirees to use the stock market for retirement. A purposeful sample of 20 Hampton Roads, Virginia residents who held retirement accounts prior to the financial crisis of 2008 consented to interviews about their retirement planning. Through open coding of the interview data, themes emerged on the need for financial education and a fear of losing retirement savings. Increasing education regarding retirement accounts and reducing the fear of losing retirement savings encourages the use of the stock market in retirement planning. The findings suggested social change implications as future retirees increase use of retirement plans and reduce their reliance on public assistance programs.

Existing studies provide a range of insights into the causes of womens low retirement incomes and emphasise the effect of low life-time incomes on womens access to economic resources in later life. Despite these insights, however, there is relatively little research on the roles played by motivations, social institutions and decision-making processes in determining womens capacity to save for retirement. In order to address some of these gaps in our understanding, this study aimed to broaden the range of theoretical approaches applied to economic studies of womens retirement savings strategies. Based on methodological perspectives informed by critical realism and feminist epistemology, the study utilised grounded research methods to collect and analyse qualitative data relevant to womens financial decisions and retirement plans. The data collection and analysis process are conceptually organised and integrated to propose a theoretical contribution that emphasises the links between social structures and specific decision-making processes that systematically contribute to low retirement savings for women. The studys findings are discussed with reference to existing economic literature that has not previously been utilised in studies of womens retirement incomes. The conclusions from this study suggest that there are significant features of womens decision-making contexts that contribute to ongoing under-saving to support women in later life.

Abstract not available

<p>Äldre yrkesverksamma är en ökande grupp på arbetsmarknaden. Det är inte ovanligt att stereotypa uppfattningar kring denna grupp resulterar i åldersdiskriminering. Det är även känt att människor förändras, både till det bättre och sämre, genom åren och att detta påverkar individens yrkesutövande. Sex grundskolelärare intervjuades med syftet att beskriva och förstå hur de ser på åldrandet, pensionen, hur de upplever att de utvecklats under åren samt hur de upplever att omgivningen ser på dem. Erfarenheter ansågs vara det mest positiva med att vara äldre medan distansen till eleverna var det negativa. Åldrandet ansågs medföra fysiska försämringar, men samtidigt upplevdes bättre människokännedom och ökad säkerhet i rollen som lärare. Pensionen lockade för vissa men arbetet upplevdes vara en viktig trygghet i livet.</p>

The oldest members of the huge baby boom cohort (born 1946-1964) will be facing retirement in the next 10 years. Because of its large size, particularly in relation to the cohorts that preceded it, the baby boom cohort has distended every social institution that it has come in contact with including the housing market. Will the baby boomers also have a disproportionate impact on the retirement housing landscape? There has been a great deal of discussion and speculation about this group of pre-retirees, yet little empirical research has been conducted on the plans of aging baby boomers. The research described in the two articles that comprise Chapters III and IV addressed this need by examining the housing and locational preferences and plans of early baby boomer pre-retirees (born 1946-1954) for the first 10 years of retirement. The concept of cohort uniqueness was integral to the model tested in the two articles. The data were collected as part of a telephone survey of metropolitan and non-metropolitan Oregon and Utah residents conducted by the Western Regional Agricultural Experiment Station Committee (W-176). Statistical analyses included Chi-square tests of significance and logistic regression. Weighted data were used so that the results would be representative of the populations of the two states. In Chapter IV, "Retirement Housing and Locational Preferences of the Depression and Early Baby Boom Age Cohorts," the early baby boomers were compared with another cohort of pre-retirees, the Depression cohort (born 1930-1939). Although some significant differences were found there were also many similarities between the two cohorts (N=836). Intra-cohort differences based on gender and marital category of early baby boomers (N=476) were examined in Chapter IV, "Retirement Housing and Locational Preferences: Differences Within the Early Baby Boom Age Cohort." Planners, policy makers, developers, and builders will need to understand these inter-cohort and intra-cohort differences and similarities in order to produce acceptable retirement housing alternatives for aging baby boomers. / Graduation date: 2001

Äldre yrkesverksamma är en ökande grupp på arbetsmarknaden. Det är inte ovanligt att stereotypa uppfattningar kring denna grupp resulterar i åldersdiskriminering. Det är även känt att människor förändras, både till det bättre och sämre, genom åren och att detta påverkar individens yrkesutövande. Sex grundskolelärare intervjuades med syftet att beskriva och förstå hur de ser på åldrandet, pensionen, hur de upplever att de utvecklats under åren samt hur de upplever att omgivningen ser på dem. Erfarenheter ansågs vara det mest positiva med att vara äldre medan distansen till eleverna var det negativa. Åldrandet ansågs medföra fysiska försämringar, men samtidigt upplevdes bättre människokännedom och ökad säkerhet i rollen som lärare. Pensionen lockade för vissa men arbetet upplevdes vara en viktig trygghet i livet.

Introduction: Mobility is critical for independence, social engagement and quality of life, which for many seniors equates with driving. Driving cessation has been associated with depression, isolation and decreased social and community engagement. However, apart from a few studies in the United States, research on the impacts of driving cessation and transportation use in general has been restricted to community dwelling seniors. It is estimated that 40,000 seniors in Ontario alone currently live in retirement facilities; a number expected to increase. Purposes: The aim of the wider project is to gain a better understanding of the transportation patterns and needs of older adults living in retirement homes. The specific aims of this study, which focused on residents who recently stopped driving (in the past two years), were to examine: 1) events leading to driving cessation, impacts (including depression), and possible associations with relocation; 2) transportation use, including how frequently they left the Village; and 3) connections with family and friends, and activity engagement in and outside the Villages. Methods: A survey of residents from four retirement Villages in Southern Ontario was conducted to examine driving status and use of other modes of transportation. An in-depth study was then conducted with a sample of 20 residents (9 men and 11 women, age 86.45 ± 5.16), recruited via letters, pamphlets, booths and door-to-door. The study involved both quantitative (questionnaires, scales on depression and balance confidence, activity checklists) and qualitative methods (small group discussions). Participants were also asked to complete travel diaries over two weeks for all trips outside the Village (purpose and mode of travel). Results: The transportation survey (N=407; 56% response rate) showed that 68% of residents had stopped driving (N=273), over half within 12 months of relocation. In the in-depth study, 36.8% had stopped driving before the move (average of 3.43±1.72 months, range 1 to 6), 42.1% after the move (average of 27.38±13.51 months, range 2 to 46), and 21.2% within the same month. While the quantitative data indicates a relationship between these transitions, this connection was often not made by residents themselves. Several mentioned health problems as the main reason they quit driving; two had lost their licenses. Regardless, most felt the decision to quit driving was voluntary and done at the “right time”. Except for a few people, this sample did not have depression symptoms and had adjusted to no longer driving. The majority (85%) had relatives in the area and most stayed connected to relatives and friends living outside the Village through visits and phone calls. Nearly all the residents (90%, n=18) received rides from others, most commonly from their daughters (70%), followed by friends outside the Village (60%). Half the sample said they used public buses occasionally, and those who did had significantly higher balance confidence scores on the ABC scale (73.33±18.50) compared to those who did not (49.44±21.02) (t=-2.69 p=0.015). Confidence scores, however, did not differ for those who used the Village shuttle (80%) and those who did not (20%). Based on their travel diaries, 76.5% of the residents (13/17) made at least one trip outside the Village over a two week period (average of 7.00±4.93, range 1 to 18), most often as a passenger in a private vehicle (58%). Recreation and social trips were the most common (44.2%), followed by: medical appointments (18%), shopping (17%), errands (15.3%) and religious activities (5.4%). The sample also took advantage of services and amenities inside the Village, including: meals in the dining room (95%), the café (90%), general store (80%), salon (65%), library (65%), laundry facilities as well as services of health professionals. They also participated in Village programs, including: music, concerts, movies (80%), physical activities (65%), games (55%) and religious services (50%). Conclusions: Seniors who can afford to live in upscale retirement homes may not suffer the adverse effects of driving cessation often found in community seniors. Despite advanced age and mobility restrictions (85% used a walker outdoors), these individuals remained connected to the outside community. This sample, at least, took advantage of the services and amenities in their Villages which may reduce their need for travel outside the Village. They do not appear to have unmet transportation needs, given that most had relatives in the area as well as other people to drive them when needed. More studies are needed on this growing segment of the senior population, particularly on other types of retirement facilities which may not offer as many services (such as shuttle buses or vans) for residents.

Background: This thesis explores the retirement behaviour of older people approaching retirement decisions. The research questions in focus deal with the attitudes toward work, the retirement preferences and the subjective well-being of the "youngest old", i.e. people aged 55–64. The included studies analyse the social determinants of these subjective evaluations and how they predict the timing of retirement and post-retirement well-being. Methods: In the included studies, methods are used that allow us to follow developments over time. Repeated cross-sectional analyses are employed to examine general developments pertaining to the older work force. These include OLS and logistic regression analysis. Longitudinal analyses are used to follow individual developments over time. These include Structural equation modelling and Cox regression analysis. Results: The results indicate that subjective evaluations such as attitudes to work and retirement preferences, as well as subjective well-being, are closely related to the structural conditions to which individuals are exposed, i.e. class position and work environment. The results also indicate that subjective evaluations such as preferred exit age and subjective well-being reported while in the work force are determinants of both the timing of retirement (in the case of preferred exit age and pre-retirement subjective well-being) and post-retirement subjective well-being (in the case of pre-retirement subjective well-being). Also, results indicate that recent policy changes in the Swedish pension systems are reflected in the retirement preferences of the older work force. A comparison of two time-points representing the incentive structure of the old and the new pension systems indicates that preferences were delayed with pension reform. Conclusion: The thesis contributes a temporal perspective to a research field that is dominated by research studying retirement behaviour at a single point of in time. The included studies underline the value of understanding retirement behaviour as a process rather than an isolated event. The way people evaluate their work, their well-being and their retirement prospects is intimately intertwined with their earlier experience. These subjective evaluations affect future retirement outcomes. Life course approaches offer illuminating tools for examining and explaining the significance of the biographies behind retirement behaviour. / Panel Survey of ageing and the elderly