Will People Be Healthy Enough to Work Longer?

Racial/Ethnic Inequality Among Older Workers: Focusing On Whites, Blacks, and Latinos Within the Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Framework

“…After carefully reviewing literature, I chose to use a self-rated measure of health because numerous scholars report that it is actually a good indicator of a person's medically determined health status (Dwyer & Mitchell, 1999;McGarry, 2004;Munnell et al, 2007) and may be the best approach in determining the effects of health on work (Munnell et al, 2007).…”

“…It should be noted that although subjective health measures-such as self-rated health or questions of health limitations-are popularly used in studies of older workers (Munnell et al, 2007), their validity is questionable for two reasons: 1) sensitivity to other circumstances and 2) justification bias.…”

“…First, self-rated health is sensitive to personal circumstances (Anderson & Burkhauser, 1985;Bound, 1991;Munnell et al, 2007). For example, some older adults who like their work often downplay their health problems; conversely, others-who dislike their work, were laid off, are eligible for government benefits, have high incomes, or look for more medical care-often overestimate their health conditions (Munnell et al, 2007).…”

“…For example, some older adults who like their work often downplay their health problems; conversely, others-who dislike their work, were laid off, are eligible for government benefits, have high incomes, or look for more medical care-often overestimate their health conditions (Munnell et al, 2007). Self-reported health can be easily affected by the availability and generosity of government-provided health and retirement benefits in particular compared to an objective measure in estimating the probability of working in old age (Anderson & Burkhauser, 1985).…”

“…Self-reported health can be easily affected by the availability and generosity of government-provided health and retirement benefits in particular compared to an objective measure in estimating the probability of working in old age (Anderson & Burkhauser, 1985). 134 Second, self-rated health cannot be free of justification bias (Anderson & Burkhauser, 1985;Bound, 1991;McGarry, 2004;Munnell et al, 2007). Individuals' deteriorating health can lead them to exit the labor force; however, there is a concern that workers might use failing health as a socially justifiable excuse for early retirement (McGarry, 2004).…”