Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/33406 
Year of Publication: 
2005
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 1680
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
A large literature examines the addictive properties of such behaviors as smoking, drinking alcohol and eating. We argue that for some people addictive behavior may apply to a much more central aspect of economic life: working. Workaholism is subject to the same concerns about the individual as other addictions, is more likely to be a problem of higher-income individuals, and can, under conditions of jointness in the workplace or the household, generate negative spillovers onto individuals around the workaholic. Using the Retirement History Survey and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find evidence that is consistent with the idea that high-income, highly educated people suffer from workaholism with regard to retiring, in that they are more likely to postpone earlier plans for retirement. The theory and evidence suggest that optimal policy involves a more progressive tax system than in the absence of workaholism.
Subjects: 
addiction
retirement
labor supply
tax policy
JEL: 
J26
H21
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
165.29 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.