Effet de la retraite sur le bien-être des résidents de l'Outaouais

Abstract

This thesis, as part of the project Iniquites geographiques et bien-etre: la population agee de l'Outaouais, has two objectives: finding out if retirement influences the retired people's perceived well-being, and attempting to target characteristics that influence the 55--75-year-old retired people's well-being. The exhaustive literature review is followed with a description of the Outaouais region and its people, a conceptual frame, and research questions analyzing the impact of retirement on well-being, before identifying the effect of several characteristics (sex, social capital, human capital and some geographic characteristics) on the retired people's well-being. Following is the methodology describing our survey and the statistical methods used to analyze the data. Presented in two chapters, the first one descriptive and the second one analytical, the results between retirement and well-being are not conclusive. It is a different story for characteristics influencing the retired people's well-being, as some have a subtle influence on life conditions' satisfaction and others have a huge influence on the retired people's well-being. Sex and marital status have little influence on the retired people's life conditions, whereas human capital and mobility have a large, influence on both the retired people's well-being and their life conditions' satisfaction. In conclusion, we think that retirement is not a major event, but its effect, combined with other factors; would have an impact on the retired people's well-being in Outaouais.