This paper examines the empirical link between retirement and the supply of volunteer labor, using panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. To identify the causal impact, we exploit a major reform of the Australian Age Pension which has significantly changed the retirement incentives of older people. We find positive and significant effects of retirement status on the voluntary work provision of older men and women. Longer time spent in retirement increases the unpaid labor supply of women, while there is no such evidence for men. We further find evidence of intra-household retirement externalities: older people’s retirement impacts positively on the volunteer behavior of their family members. Our findings suggest that the Australian Age Pension reform aiming at working life prolongation has led to an unintended shrinkage of the volunteer workforce.

本文使用来自澳大利亚家庭、收入和劳动力动态 (HILDA) 调查的面板数据，研究了退休与志愿劳动力供应之间的实证联系。为了确定因果影响，我们利用澳大利亚养老金的重大改革，该改革显着改变了老年人的退休激励措施。我们发现退休状态对老年男性和女性的志愿工作提供积极和显着的影响。更长的退休时间会增加女性的无偿劳动供给，而男性则没有这样的证据。我们进一步发现了家庭内部退休外部性的证据：老年人的退休对其家庭成员的志愿行为产生了积极影响。