Labor Participation at Older Ages in Taiwan：Determinants and Trends

• Main Authors: Ching-Lung Du, 杜進倫
• Other Authors: Yu-chen Kuo
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/08806875883709447678

碩士 === 逢甲大學 === 經濟學系 === 102 === Over the last three decades, the number of elderly labor force in Taiwan has increased owing to the improvement in health care and life expectancy. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate of population aged 50-64 has dropped substantially and the rate is relatively low in comparison with Japan, Korean, and the US. Since the mandatory retirement age is sixty-five in Taiwan, the decline in participation, particularly for men, implies a common trend in early retirement. We plan to utilize the data from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD) since 1999 to discuss the decisions of labor participation for older workforce. This panel dataset contain detailed information regarding interviewee’s personal background, working history, and most importantly, the performance of the industry in which the individual was holding his job currently or held his job in the past.Our empirical results show that the willingness to participate in the labor force for elderly workers is negatively related to their age. The deterioration of the health conditions also makes elderly workers opt out of the labor market. In addition, when elderly workers have retired with pension, which often implies a better status of wealth, they are relatively reluctant to participate in labor market. For the currently married couples, women with poor health status do not affect their probability of labor force participation. As to the family factors, women whose spouses are currently employed will increase their likelihood of participation. The husbands with working wives or with minor children are more inclined to participate in the labor force. In the wake of the financial tsunami, both older men and women are less likely to participate in the labor force. These results should improve our understating of early retirement decision in Taiwan and provide policy relevance in the labor market.