Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/221744 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
GLO Discussion Paper No. 580
Publisher: 
Global Labor Organization (GLO), Essen
Abstract: 
Adult education can mitigate the productivity decline in aging societies if older workers are willing to learn. We examine a generous partial retirement reform in Germany that led to a massive increase in early retirement. Using county-level administrative data on voluntary education activities, we employ a difference-in-differences approach for identification. The estimates show a strong increase in participation in adult education, specifically in cognitively demanding courses, for early retirees who would have continued working in the absence of the reform. This supports the notion of an intrinsic willingness of older individuals to acquire skills and abilities independent of financial incentives.
Subjects: 
partial retirement
early retirement
older workers
adult education
generalized difference-in-differences
JEL: 
J14
J24
J26
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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