Working Paper: NBER ID: w2509
Authors: Steven C. Allen; Robert L. Clark; Ann A. McDermed
Abstract: Previous studies have found that workers who are covered by pensions are much less likely than other workers to leave their jobs, but the evidence on how specific pension characteristics affect turnover is inconclusive. This paper examines how mobility is affected by vesting standards, the compensation level, and the capital loss of pension wealth for job changers. In two different data sets, we find that the capital loss is strongly associated with lower turnover rates, whereas vesting and the compensation level have relatively little impact. Large capital losses are mainly associated with lower layoff rates rather than lower quit rates.
Keywords: Pensions; Worker Mobility; Labor Economics
JEL Codes: J32; J63
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| capital loss (G32) | turnover (J63) |
| vesting (G24) | turnover (J63) |
| compensation levels (J31) | turnover (J63) |