ABSTRACT
The labor supply of older workers will be a key policy issue in the future. An ageing society is leading to an increasing number of older people and longevity to longer lives and changes in the life course. Both forces are increasing labor market participation at older ages. As retirement age extends, it becomes less of a discrete event, more variable in its timing, and characterized by considerable diversity across individuals. Therefore, understanding labor supply at older ages increasingly requires a focus on the intensive margin and hours worked and on the characteristics of work. As tax and benefit schemes change to reduce incentives to retire and as health at older ages improves, an issue emerges as to what makes older workers distinctive. The corollary is to either subsume older workers in more general theories of labor supply or to develop a richer understanding of ageing and its impact on preferences.
