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February 2003 W03/02
Article
Ill health and retirement in Britain: a panel data based analysis
Type: IFS Working Papers
ISSN: 1742-0415
Volume, issue, pages: 28 pp
JEL classification: H55 I12 J26
Now published in: Journal of Health Economics [Details]

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We examine the role of ill-health in retirement decisions in Britain, using the first eight waves of the British Household Panel Survey (1991-98). As self-reported health status is likely to be endogenous to the retirement decision, we instrument self-reported health by a constructed Ѩealth stock' measure using a set of health indicator variables and personal characteristics, as suggested by Bound et al (1999). Using both linear and non-linear fixed effects estimators, we show that adverse individual health shocks are an important predictor of individual retirement behaviour. We compare the impact of our constructed health measure on economic activity with that arising from the use of other health variables in the data set. We also examine the impact of the 1995 reform of disability benefits on the retirement decision.

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