This setting lets you change the way you view articles. You can choose to have articles open in a dialog window, a new tab, or directly in the same window.
Open in Dialog
Open in New Tab
Open in same window

American Economic Review: Vol. 99 No. 5 (December 2009)

AER Volume. 99, Issue 5 | leftPrevious ArticleNext Articleright

Expand

Quick Tools:

Print Article Summary Email Link to this Article Export Citation
Sign up for Email Alerts Follow us on Twitter

Explore:

AER - All Issues

AER Forthcoming Articles

The Retirement Consumption Puzzle: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Approach

Article Citation

Battistin, Erich, Agar Brugiavini, Enrico Rettore, and Guglielmo Weber. 2009. "The Retirement Consumption Puzzle: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Approach." American Economic Review, 99(5): 2209-26.

DOI: 10.1257/aer.99.5.2209

Abstract

We investigate the size of the consumption drop at retirement in Italy by exploiting pension eligibility information to correct for endogenous retirement. We take a regression discontinuity approach and assume that spending would be smooth around pension eligibility if individuals did not retire. We estimate a 9.8 percent drop associated to retirement. This fall is not driven by liquidity problems for the less well off and can be accounted for by drops in work-related expenses. Retirement also induces a significant drop in the number of grown children living with their parents and this explains most of the retirement consumption drop. (JEL D91, E21, J26, J31)

Article Full-Text Access

Full-text Article

Additional Materials

Download Data Set (5.51 MB) | Download Additional Materials (110.57 KB)

Authors

Battistin, Erich (U Padova and IRVAPP)
Brugiavini, Agar (U Venice "Ca'Foscari")
Rettore, Enrico (U Padova and IRVAPP)
Weber, Guglielmo (U Padova and IFS)

JEL Classifications

D91: Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
E21: Macroeconomics: Consumption; Saving; Wealth
J26: Retirement; Retirement Policies
J32: Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Private Pensions


American Economic Review



AEA Member Login:


Quick Tools:

Email Link to this Issue

Sign up for Email Alerts

Follow us on Twitter

Subscription Information
(Institutional Administrator Access)

Explore:

AER - All Issues

AER - Forthcoming Articles

AEA Journals

Virtual Field Journals

AEAweb | AEA Journals | Contact Us