Dynamic Analysis of Economic Well Being at Older Ages

Burkhauser, Richard

Abstract

This is a competing continuation application for research support for project 1 of the original program project. It proposes to answer questions about the economic well-being of older persons with a special emphasis on older women. This proposal will use both cross-sectional and longitudinal data to measure economic well-being of older retired people and older workers relative to the rest of the population, both in the United States and in comparison with two modem western industrialized countries-the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom-to determine how vulnerable older groups fared over the past 25 years both absolutely and relative to others in the population. Methodologically, we will recognize the diversity both within the older population and across age groups by moving beyond summary measures of their economic well-being-mean income, median income, quintile position, Gini coefficient, etc.-and we will take advantage of a new generation of nonparametric techniques to measure inequality-kernel density estimation to show the shape of the entire income distribution and how it has changed over time. While we begin our analysis using cross-sectional data we will concentrate on the dynamics of income distribution by following individuals over time and tracing their movements across the distribution. And we will eventually test whether or not major events-the reunification of Germany and the decade of the l980s in the United States-correspond with regime changes in the overall income distribution and in the position of older and vulnerable groups within that distribution.