Taking back control? Quasi-experimental evidence on the impact of retirement on locus of control
We use Australian panel data to examine the impact of retirement on individual locus of control, a socio-emotional skill with substantial explanatory power for a broad range of life outcomes. Exploiting the eligibility age for the Australian Age Pension, we find that retirement leads to increased internal locus of control. This greater internal control explains around one-third and one-fifth of the positive effects of retirement on health and subjective well-being, respectively. We also show that locus of control is much more malleable at retirement than the other socio-emotional skills of the Big-Five personality traits, risk and time preferences, and trust.
1 May 2024
The Economic Journal 134(660) , pp.1465-1493, 2024
https://academic.oup.com/ej/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ej/uead118/7502797
This Journal article is published under the centre's Community Wellbeing programme.