Why Have the Labor Force Participation Rates of Older Men Increased since the Mid‐1990s?

Abstract

This article seeks to explain the substantial increases in older men’s labor force participation rates observed since the mid‐1990s. Using data from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, I exploit the cohort effects driving recent increases in older women’s participation rates to identify the effect of a wife’s participation decision on her husband’s participation decision. I then decompose the changes in older married men’s participation rates, demonstrating that husbands’ responses to increases in wives’ participation in the labor force can explain one‐fourth, one‐half, and one‐third of the increase in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, respectively.