Age Discrimination in Wages and Displaced Older Men

Abstract

During a period of high unemployment, the plight of older workers who lose their jobs is of prime policy concern. Older workers are unemployed longer than other workers; for example, in October 1982, unemployed men age 45 and over were, on average, unemployed for 15 weeks compared to 10 weeks for all men 16 and over [27;20].' This paper focuses on a different aspect of the labor-market consequences of job displacement: loss of earnings after finding a new job. We examine two policy-relevant questions: Is there a relationship between age and the wage loss associated with displacement and reemployment? How do overall economic conditions affect the loss?