Our aim in this paper is to resolve a paradox. Since the 1970s, there has been a downward secular trend in the average real and relative earnings of young adults under the age of 35. Despite the fact that most young children live in households headed by adults under 35, there has been no...

This paper examines the extent to which family income during working years is "replaced" during the retirement years. It does so by tracking cohorts as they age from their mid-50s to their late 70s, using a taxation-based longitudinal data source that covers 26 years from 1982 to 2007. Earlier...

Using a longitudinal database and fixed-effects econometric models, this paper assesses the effect of widowhood or widowerhood, and divorce after age 55 on income replacement rates during the retirement years. Among women, separation or divorce has a larger negative effect than does widowhood....