Harvard University
To support research that addresses how work conditions shape observed employment transitions of older workers and how age and employment status affect preferences for working conditions
This grant funds follow-up research by Harvard’s Nicole Maestas in the aftermath of the 2015 American Working Conditions Survey (AWCS). The AWCS is alone among major workplace surveys in its attention to cataloging both the pecuniary and the nonpecuniary characteristics of jobs, which allows researchers to analyze how these characteristics shape older Americans’ decisions regarding working into later ages. In tandem with the AWCS, Maestas fielded a stated preference experiment designed to assess how much older workers value different job characteristics. Funds from this grant will allow Maestas to reconnect with survey participants three years after the original ACWS survey, allowing the collection of new data and enabling a clearer look into both how workplace characteristics shape retirement decisions and the dynamics of how worker preferences about the desirability of various workplace characteristics change over time.