Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 10889 CHAPTER 5 | TR ACKING THE IMPACT OF THE GREAT RECESSION or “very important.” Nearly 85% of participants indicate that being worried about the economic future is an important reason for reducing spend- ing in the past year. Those in the older age groups are less likely to have reduced spending because of the need to reduce debt, having a lower income, or rising unemployment levels. Actual spending changes from the CAMS show that changes during the recession are sharply larger than in the period from 2001 to 2006. Among those aged 50 to 64, spending declines by 7.6% more in 2007 to 2009 compared to 2001 to 2006. In contrast, for those over age 64, spending declines 3.4% more in the later period when compared to the earlier period, suggesting that older households are better protected against the impact of recession. The 2009 internet survey also asks HRS participants to estimate percentage changes in the value of their homes, employer retirement saving plans, individual retirement accounts (Keogh plans), investment trusts, mutual funds, directly held stocks, and stocks held through other assets. Another question assesses their subjective expectation that the stock market will recover in one year’s time. Housing and financial losses have a large negative impact on spending. Job loss during the recession led to a 10% de- crease in spending overall (Christelis et al. 2015). Those who thought that the stock market would not be likely to recover within a year decreased their spending by a significantly larger degree than those who were more optimistic. Vulnerable Groups Researchers have also investigated the impact of the recession on more vulnerable populations who may have been hit particularly hard by the recession. Older workers with disabilities may have been more likely to lose their jobs during the recession and less likely to find another job. There were significantly higher rates of invol- untary job loss in the period from 2006 to 2008 Men Women 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Age: 55-64 Age: 65-74 Age: 75+ Need to reduce debt Lower income Worse employment Stocks down Lower house value Worried about economic future FIGURE 5-3  Percent reporting important reasons for spending decline by age: 2009 Source: Hurd and Rohwedder (2010c).