American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Did the Elimination of Mandatory Retirement Affect Faculty Retirement?
American Economic Review
vol. 92,
no. 4, September 2002
(pp. 957–980)
Abstract
A special exemption from the 1986 Age Discrimination Act allowed colleges and universities to enforce mandatory retirement of faculty at age 70 until 1994. We construct a survey that permits us to compare faculty turnover rates before and after the law changed at a large sample of institutions with defined contribution pension plans. After the elimination of compulsory retirement the retirement rates of 70- and 71-year-olds fell by two-thirds and were comparable to rates of 69-year-olds. These findings indicate that U.S. colleges and universities will experience a rise in the number of older faculty over the coming years. (JEL J26, I21)Citation
Ashenfelter, Orley, and David Card. 2002. "Did the Elimination of Mandatory Retirement Affect Faculty Retirement? ." American Economic Review, 92 (4): 957–980. DOI: 10.1257/00028280260344542JEL Classification
- J26 Retirement; Retirement Policies
- I29 Education: Other
- J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination
- J44 Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing