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Did They Jump or Were They Pushed? The Exit of Older Men from the London Labor Market, 1929–1931

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Dudley Baines  and
Paul Johnson
Dudley Baines
Affiliation:
Dudley Baines is Reader, Department of Economic History, London School of Economics, Houghton street, London WC2AE, England. Email: [email protected].
Paul Johnson
Affiliation:
Paul Johnson is Professor, Department of Economic History, London School of Economics, Houghton street, London WC2AE, England. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

We examine the income of older men in London around 1930, based on a large sample. The income of nonworking older men was substantially below that of men still working. We find no evidence that retirement rates increased at the state-penionable—unsurprisingly, since pension paryments provided less than a povertyline income. Less demanding or part-time work was unavailable. Hence we conclude that the decision of older manual workers to leave the labor market was determined primarily by the absence of appropriate employment opportunities, rather than the presence of substantial assets or nonlabor income.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 59 , Issue 4 , December 1999 , pp. 949 - 971
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1999

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