Does Retirement Affect Secondary Preventive Care Use? Evidence From Breast Cancer Screening

Peter Eibich , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Léontine Goldzahl, University of Manchester

This paper examines the causal impact of retirement on secondary preventive care use, focusing on breast cancer screening. We use data from Eurobarometer surveys conducted between 1996 and 2006, covering 25 different European countries. We address the endogeneity of retirement by using age thresholds for pension eligibility as instrumental variables. We find that retirement reduces secondary preventive care use. This effect is not driven by changes in health or income. Instead, our evidence suggests that generosity of the social health insurance system and women’s beliefs concerning cancer prevention and treatment are important mechanisms.

See paper

 Presented in Session 112. Future of Health: Consequences of Cohort Differences in Health Behaviors