Abstract
A model of retirement decision-making is described in which a relatively small number of agents are rational. Such agents behave as if they compute the optimal age at which to retire. A small proportion of agents retire at random. A majority of the population engages in imitative behavior. An imitative agent retires once a certain fraction of the agents in its social network have retired. The model is analyzed by agent-based computational techniques. It is demonstrated that high levels of optimal behavior can result in the aggregate despite low levels of individual rationality.
A formal version of this paper was published in Behavioral Dimensions of Retirement Economics, 1999.
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