Looking Back in Anger? Retirement and unemployment scarring

Arbeitspapier

Previous studies find that past unemployment reduces life satisfaction even after reemployment for non-monetary reasons (unemployment scarring). It is not clear, however, whether this scarring is only caused by employment-related factors, such as worsened working conditions, or increased future uncertainty as regards income and employment. Using German panel data, we identify non-employment-related scarring by examining the transition of unemployed people to retirement as a life event after which employment-related scarring does not matter anymore. We find evidence for non-employment-related non-monetary unemployment scarring for people who were unemployed for the first time in their life directly prior to retirement, but not for people with earlier unemployment experiences.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research ; No. 652

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; General Welfare; Well-Being ; Retirement; Retirement Policies
• Subject: unemployment scarring ; life satisfaction ; retirement

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Hetschko, Clemens ; Knabe, Andreas ; Schöb, Ronnie
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
• (where): Berlin
• (when): 2014

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/97157
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET