Partition of the Life Course: An Extended Dynamic Microsimulation Analysis

Abstract

This study explores life courses in a dynamic microsimulation framework at a time of high public interest in prolonging working lives. We provide new insights into how historical records could be merged with microsimulation outcomes and develop a new indicator for measuring and illustrating individual life course stages in adulthood. Partition of the life course yields the average lengths of life course stages in Finland. We illustrate our indicator and its distribution by gender, cohort and level of education. The proposed indicator is also used to elaborate widely accepted indicators from the Pension Adequacy Report. We conclude that the proposed partitioning method should be easily transferrable to other countries where historical records are available.