Early retirement in the day-care sector: the role of working conditions and health

This article studies the role of working conditions and health for elderly female day-care teachers’ decision to enter early
retirement. Entry into retirement is analysed in a duration framework that allows for unobserved heterogeneity in the baseline
hazard. Data are from a Danish longitudinal data set based on administrative register records for 1997–2006. Working conditions
are measured by four indicators. First, work pressure is measured by the child-to-teacher ratio, which varies across municipalities
and over time. Second, working conditions are measured by the proportion of children with a problematic social background.
Third, the share of trained teachers is considered an indicator of working conditions. And fourth, the size of the institution
is assessed as an indicator of working conditions. Regressions in a duration model framework show that there is no significant
relationship between the child-to-teacher ratio or the size of the institution and early retirement. However, working conditions
measured by the social background of the children and the share of trained day-care teachers have a significant effect on
the probability of early retirement. Finally, a poor health condition is associated with a higher propensity to enter early
retirement.