Arbeitspapier

Working life and human capital investment: Causal evidence from pension reform

In this paper we present a life-cycle model with human capital investment during working life through training and provide a novel empirical test of human capital theory. Using a sizable pension reform which shifts the retirement age between two adjacent cohorts by three years, we document causal evidence that an increase in the working life increases investment into human capital through training. We estimate this effect using a regression discontinuity design based on a large sample from the German microcensus. We discuss and test further predictions regarding the relation between initial schooling, training, and the reform effect and show that only individuals with a college degree increase human capital investment. Our results speak to a large class of human capital models as well as policies extending or shortening working life.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: Discussion Paper ; No. 212

Classification
Wirtschaft
Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Retirement; Retirement Policies
Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
Subject
human capital
retirement policies
RDD

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Gohl, Niklas
Haan, Peter
Kurz, Elisabeth
Weinhardt, Felix
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition
(where)
München und Berlin
(when)
2019

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Gohl, Niklas
  • Haan, Peter
  • Kurz, Elisabeth
  • Weinhardt, Felix
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition

Time of origin

  • 2019

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