CHE Seminar Series: Why life gets better after age 50, for some - Mental well-being and the social norm of work
We provide evidence that the social norm (expectation) that adults work has a substantial detrimental causal effect on the mental well-being of unemployed men in mid-life, as substantial as, e.g., the detriment of being widowed. As their peers in age retire and the social norm weakens, the mental well-being of the unemployed improves. Using data on individuals aged 50+ from 10 European countries, we identify the social norm of work effect using exogenous variation in the earliest eligibility age for old-age public pensions across countries and birth cohorts.
Speaker profile
Maarten Lindeboom is Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics at VU University Amsterdam and the Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Melbourne Australia. He is a member of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) and a research fellow of the Tinbergen Institute, IZA and , member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities. He is an emeritus editor of the Journal of Health Economics, holds various positions in advisory boards of international research institutes and held longer term visiting positions at the University of Michigan and the University of Bristol. His research interests are in the field of Health, Labor and Demography, in particular issues related to Early life conditions human capital formation and later life health outcomes; Health, Income and Work across the life cycle; Mental Health and Economic Decision Making.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu
Event Details
- Date:
- 19 November 2025 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- Caulfield campus, Building H, level 2, room H2.24
- Categories:
- CHE Seminar; General
Description
We provide evidence that the social norm (expectation) that adults work has a substantial detrimental causal effect on the mental well-being of unemployed men in mid-life, as substantial as, e.g., the detriment of being widowed. As their peers in age retire and the social norm weakens, the mental well-being of the unemployed improves. Using data on individuals aged 50+ from 10 European countries, we identify the social norm of work effect using exogenous variation in the earliest eligibility age for old-age public pensions across countries and birth cohorts.
Speaker profile
Maarten Lindeboom is Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics at VU University Amsterdam and the Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Melbourne Australia. He is a member of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) and a research fellow of the Tinbergen Institute, IZA and , member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities. He is an emeritus editor of the Journal of Health Economics, holds various positions in advisory boards of international research institutes and held longer term visiting positions at the University of Michigan and the University of Bristol. His research interests are in the field of Health, Labor and Demography, in particular issues related to Early life conditions human capital formation and later life health outcomes; Health, Income and Work across the life cycle; Mental Health and Economic Decision Making.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu