We present three statistical methods for causal analysis in life course research that are able to take into account the order of events and their possible causal relationship: a cross-lagged model, a latent growth model (LGM), and a synthesis of the two, an autoregressive latent trajectories model (ALT). We apply them to a highly relevant…

Continuous learning over the life course is necessary to successfully compete in a knowledge-based global economy. Workers are increasingly encouraged to remain in the labor force at older ages, which for many will require skills upgrading. While a wide range of individual and community factors play a role in whether older workers receive skills…

Economists have long suggested that higher private pension benefits "crowd out" other sources of household wealth accumulation. We exploit detailed information on pensions and lifetime earnings for older workers in the 1992 wave of the Health and Retirement Study and employ an instrumental-variable (IV) identification strategy to estimate…

This study aimed to understand the environmental knowledge (EK) of the residents of Hong Kong. A territory-wide survey was administered to investigate the subjective and objective EK of the respondents as well as their means of receiving information about the environment. The results indicated that Hong Kong's residents have a comparatively low…

In this paper the authors examine how the structures of earnings, Social Security, and pension benefits affect retirement behavior. They use an intertemporal model of labor supply, paying special attention to the institutional features of private pensions and Social Security benefits. (Author/SSH)

Net depreciation rates in human capital are estimated from wage data on a longitudinal sample of men aged 45 to 64. The results indicate that wage rates begin to decline in the early 50s at rates under one percent annually and decline at about two percent annually after age 60. (Author)

Although the economic status of older persons has improved, women are at risk for poverty in old age as a result of their lifelong work experiences. Gender differences in work history, type of occupation, industrial sector, and retirement circumstances are contributing factors. (SK)

Discusses the increase of women in the labor force; the role of divorce, the women's movement, and marriage at a later age; older women in the work force; economic factors; the kinds of jobs women hold and the earnings they receive; and the implications for vocational education. (CT)

The current controversy over age-based mandatory retirement in academia is causing a review of tenure and salary policies. In this article, two alternative explanations for the institution of tenure are discussed. Five alternative policy responses available to university administrators are described and analyzed. (Author/SA)