Later in Life
Mobility and Ageing: Preferences in the Use of Transportation Services and Goods by Age
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Albert Luger
The changing age structure in industrialized countries like Austria, caused by the increasing life expectancy and low fertility rates, is affecting the consumption patterns of a (regional) economy. This can be explained by changing preferences and needs subject to the age of a household. Also studies in the field of mobility have shown that consumption patterns and expenditures for goods and services in the field of transportation are influenced by certain socioeconomic variables as the age of the household. While there are comparable “young” regions in Austria like the capital Vienna (due to domestic and international immigration of young people to the metropolitan regions) there are also relatively “old” regions like Carinthia, a federal state marked by domestic out-migration of young people. The objective of this paper is to investigate to what extent mobility behaviour and expenditures of Austrian households for mobility (e.g. cars, bikes, public transportation etc.) are dependent on the age of the household, and subsequently which effects are to be expected for the demand of transportation goods and services due to the ageing of the population. The paper is based on a comprehensive literature review as well as a quantitative analysis of mobility expenditures from recent Household Budget Surveys.
Joint Retirement in Poland
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anna Ruzik Sierdzinska, Sonia Buchholtz
Coordination of retirement decisions of older couples (married or cohabiting), known as joint retirement, is discussed in the literature on the determinants of retirement decisions. There is a hypothesis that not only do spouses consult the timing of retirement, but they also coordinate the dates. While the hypothesis of joint retirement was generally confirmed for developed countries, only few studies provide statistics on its prevalence. Among the ones that do, it is found that approximately one in twelve couples retires jointly and one in three couples retires within a year. Our paper aim was the empirical analysis of the incidence of joint retirement in Poland. Based on the Labour Force Survey (BAEL) individual data on respondents aged 55-69 we found that more than half people that are economically inactive - neither working nor looking for a job - life in a household with an inactive spouse. For the period between 3rd quarter 2016 and 3rd quarter 2017 we observed that around 11 percent of retirement flows could be treated as joint retirement. Additionally, the results of logic models suggest that retirement of a spouse increases significantly chances that a respondent retires as well. The effect in Poland seems to be stronger for women.
Income Inequalities between Generations in Austria, Italy, and France - Changes since 2007
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bernhard Binder Hammer
How did changes in disposable income over the last decade affect the population at different life stages? Our paper measures and analyses income at distinct life stages and its changes between 2007 and 2016 in Austria, France, and Italy. The analysis is based on aggregate economic data from the European System of Accounts and on micro-data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. By distinguishing the population according to life stages, we show that income of the young, childless adult population and of families with small children stagnated or declined, while the development of income was much more favorable for the older population.
