The New Welfare State: Social Security and Retirement in 1950

Abstract

The labor force behavior of older men has attracted the attention of economists, sociologists, and historians because it speaks to several concerns: the current crisis in Social Security, the origins and development of the welfare state, and the place of the aged in American history. The central issue is the decline in labor force participation among older men, a striking phenomenon of the twentieth century. In the nineteenth century, men past the age of 60 or 65 were quite likely to remain in the labor force. According to most historical accounts, their labor force participation declined monotonically from near 75% in 1890 to about 25% at present, a trend set in motion by cultural and economic changes which made the aged less valued by employers.