Table 1 Summary of all variables used in the models
From: Mental health around retirement: evidence of Ashenfelter’s dip
Category | Variables | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Dependent variable | Mental health: EURO-D | 0–12 | Range of being depressed. Higher values indicate higher depression |
Independent variable | Retirement status | 0–1 | 0: employed or unemployed 1: retired |
Independent variable | Retirement lead 1/2/3 | 0–1 | 0: employed or unemployed 1: retired in 1/2/3 waves (2/4/6 years) later |
Independent variable | Retirement lag 1/2/3 | 0–1 | 0: employed or unemployed 1: retired in 1/2/3 waves (2/4/6 years) before |
Independent variable | Retired due to positive circumstances | 0–1 | 0: employed or unemployed 1: retired because of at least one of the reasons: (1) became eligible for a public pension, (2) became eligible for a private occupational pension, (3) became eligible for a private pension, (4) received an offer of early retirement with special incentives |
Independent variable | Retired due to negative circumstances | 0–1 | 0: employed or unemployed 1: retired because of at least one of the reasons: lost their job due to redundancy (layoff), were in poor health, needed to care for an ill relative(s)/friend(s) |
Independent variable | Retired due to aspirational motivations | 0–1 | 0: employed or unemployed 1: retired because of at least one of the reasons: wanted to retire at the same time as their partner or spouse, wanted to spend more time with their family, or wanted to enjoy their life |
Independent variable | Retired due to ambiguous reasons | 0–1 | 0: employed or unemployed 1: retired with reasons fall into more than one category above |
Instrumental variable | IV_normal | 0–1 | 0: Not being over eligible pension age 1: Being over eligible pension age |
Instrumental variable | IV_early | 0–1 | 0: Not being over early pension age 1: Being over early pension age |
Control variable | Gender | 0–1 | 0: Female 1: Male |
Control variable | Marital status | 0–1 | 0: Not married 1: Married |
Control variable | Vigorous activities | 1, 2, 3, 4 | Frequency of doing vigorous activities 1: More than once a week 2: Once a week 3: One to three times a month 4: Hardly ever, or never |
Control variable | Moderate energy activities | 1, 2, 3, 4 | Frequency of doing moderate energy activities: 1: More than once a week 2: Once a week 3: One to three times a month 4: Hardly ever, or never |
Control variable | Age | Integer (39–88) | Age at year of interview |
Control variable | Number of children | Integer (0–19) | Number of children regardless of marital status |
Control variable | GDP growth | Real | GDP growth of an individual’s country |
Unemployment rate | Real (0–100%) | Unemployment rate of an individual’s country |