Jim Raymo is Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he is also director of the Center for Demography and Ecology. Raymo’s research focuses primarily on evaluating patterns and potential consequences of major demographic changes in Japan. He has published widely on key features of recent family change in Japan, including delayed marriage, extended coresidence with parents, and increases in premarital cohabitation, shotgun marriages, and divorce. In two other lines of research, he has examined relationships between work, family characteristics, and health outcomes at older ages in Japan and patterns of retirement and well-being at older ages in the U.S. He is currently involved in a project that examines family change and inequality in Japan in cross-national comparative perspective, with a particular emphasis on single-parent families. His research has been published in top U.S. journals such as American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Demography, and Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences as well as in Japanese journals.
Award Information
I propose to examine the ways in which family structure and family relations influence, and are influenced by, changes in work status among older men and women in Japan and the United States. While building upon a growing body of research on the family context of retirement in the U.S., this work will provide an important extension of existing research on later-life labor force participation in Japan. Explicit consideration of the family context of-later-life work is important given a strong policy interest in promoting both the labor supply and general well-being of older men and women in Japan and other rapidly aging societies. Results will contribute to our understanding of: (a) the potential labor force implications of projected changes in family structure, (2) the relationships between economic characteristics (e.g., pension coverage/benefits) and labor supply, and (3) the joint determination of economic and emotional well-being of older men and women.
