RACE DIFFERENCES IN LABOR-FORCE ATTACHMENT AND DISABILITY STATUS

We used the first wave of the Health and Retirement Survey to study th e effect of health on the labor force activity of black and white men and women in their 50s. The evidence we present confirms the notion th at health is an extremely important determinant of early labor force e xit. Our estimates suggest that health differences between blacks and whites can account for most of the racial gap in labor force attachmen t for men. For women, when participation rates are comparable, our est imates imply that black women would be substantially more likely to wo rk than white women were it not for the marked health differences. We also found for both men and women that poor health has a substantially larger effect on labor force behavior for blacks. The evidence sugges ts that these differences result from black/white differences in acces s to the resources necessary to retire.