Labour Market Participation and Income Distribution of the Aged in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines labour market participation and distribution of income of the elderly in Nigeria, with emphasis on the changes in the distribution of household income due to demographic change. The paper utilized the logit regression analysis and observed that participation in the labour market among elderly women is higher than that of elderly men in all educational levels; the labour market participation level among farmers decreases with old age illness and education. The outcome of the decomposition method on the distribution of income in the labour market analysis of the elderly shows that inequality is higher among elderly males involved in income earning activities compared to the elderly females. On the percentage share of the distribution of the labour market income, it is found that the income of elderly males is higher than that of elderly females in all income types except for self-employment.