##manager.scheduler.building##: Velodromo - Bocconi University
##manager.scheduler.room##: N02
Date: 2019-01-24 04:30 PM – 06:00 PM
Last modified: 2018-12-26
Abstract
This study explores the possible unintended effects of work-life extension on health. The causal link between pension age and hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases is investigated in a large sample of male Italian retirees (N=41,070). Endogeneity is addressed by an instrumental variable identification strategy, which exploits the exogenous variation in pension age determined by month of birth. The analysis is performed on a longitudinal dataset combining several administrative archives on pensions, working histories and hospitalizations.
Results show that a one-year delay in pension claiming rises hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases by 1.7 percentage points (p<0.01). However, the detrimental effect of higher pension age is entirely borne by workers that are blue-collars, in the secondary sector and with low wages. Hence, only workers exposed to more physically demanding and low quality jobs are vulnerable to the extension of working life. Several sensitivity and specification tests suggest that the results are robust.