Author: Mohammad Almomani
Almomani, Mohammad, 2025 Ageing with Purpose: Factors Shaping Well-being and Behaviour in Older Lives - Insights From the SHARE Database, Flinders University, College of Business, Government and Law
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This research, a comprehensive exploration, delves into the factors shaping well-being and behaviour in older adults using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement for Europe (SHARE). It is a collection of three independent papers focusing on European countries. Chapter 1 presents a general introduction to factors that shape well-being and behaviour in older adults, the aim of this thesis, research motivation, the significance of ageing research in economics, the SHARE dataset and the thesis structure.
Chapter 2 (Paper 1) examines the role of locus of control in impacting the participation and frequency of volunteering among adults aged 50 and over in Europe. While multiple studies examine the concept of locus of control and how it impacts health-related behaviour, our understanding of its impact on volunteering for older adults is limited. Our analysis draws on panel data from multiple waves across several European regions (Northern, Central and Southern Europe) covering the period 2010 (Wave 4) to 2019 (Wave 8). We employ a fixed effects (FE) approach to address unobserved individual factors and time-invariant characteristics. We employ a fixed effect instrumental variable (FE-IV) approach to address endogeneity. The results show that locus of control positively and significantly influences volunteering participation and frequency, suggesting that older adults with a high sense of control are more likely to participate and frequently volunteer. When it comes to gender difference, women volunteer more frequently than men. Our heterogeny analysis shows that this relationship varies across Europe. This effect is particularly pronounced in Southern Europe.
Chapter 3 (Paper 2) investigates the impact of emotional closeness on life expectancy among people aged 50 and over in 14 European countries, covering three waves of the SHARE Wave 4 (2010), Wave 6 (2015) and Wave 8 (2019). This is the first economic investigation using emotional closeness as part of social networks. Therefore, we use emotional closeness as the main independent variable in this paper. We employ a fixed effects (FE) approach to address unobserved individual factors and time-invariant characteristics. We employ a fixed effect instrumental variable (FE-IV) approach to address endogeneity. We use network satisfaction as an instrumental variable. We find that a higher level of emotional closeness has a positive causal impact on life expectancy.
Regarding gender differences, our results show that older women are affected by this relationship but not older men. Our regional heterogeny analysis divided European countries into two groups: countries with collectivistic cultures and countries with individualistic cultures. In collectivist European cultures, this connection is particularly strong for women, highlighting the influence of cultural context on health outcomes.
Chapter 4 (Paper 3) examines the impact of retirement on Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). Our analysis focuses on how the transition from work to retirement and time spent in retirement affect the ability of older adults to perform those activities independently. We employ a fixed effects (FE) approach to address the time to control unobserved factors and individual characteristics. We use a fixed effect instrumental variable (FE-IV) approach to address endogeneity. We use normal state pension age eligibility as an instrumental variable for transition to retirement. We use retirement duration as an instrumental variable. We find that the transition to retirement increases difficulties. We also find that spending more time in retirement exacerbates those difficulties in IADLs, especially for older men and those in Central Europe and Mediterranean countries.
Keywords: Well-being, Older Lives, Locus of control, Emotional Closenesss, Retirement.
Subject: Ageing Studies thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2025
School: College of Business, Government and Law
Supervisor: Ilke Onur