RETIREMENT, WORK AND AGING IN KOREA: UNDERSTANDING THE MANDATORY RETIREMENT POLICY

Abstract

Examining policies in the domain of retirement and work is essential as governments address demographic challenges and rethink existing institutions. This dissertation consists of three stand-alone essays analyzing the impacts, development trajectories and institutional setting of mandatory retirement policy in Korea, a rapidly aging economy. The first two essays investigate how the mandatory retirement policy relates to older workers' retirement status and life satisfaction by performing logit regression analyses. The third comparative essay traces the institutionalization of the policy in four country cases situated across different welfare regime-types. Findings suggest that the mandatory retirement policy induces older workers’ complete withdrawal from the labor force, and adversely affects workers’ satisfaction regarding the quality of life without much significant effect economically. Moreover, the importance of welfare regime-type and the policy change rationale is highlighted in understanding policy styles. This dissertation provides empirical insights for policymakers in rethinking policy direction going forward.