The Power of Social Pensions: Evidence from China's New Rural Pension Scheme

Wei Huang () and Chuanchuan Zhang

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 179-205

Abstract: This paper utilizes the county-by-county rollout of China's New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) and finds that, among age-eligible people, the pension scheme leads to higher household income and food expenditure, less farmwork, better health, and lower mortality. In addition, the NRPS shifts age-ineligible adults from farmwork to nonfarmwork but does not significantly affect their income, expenditure, or health. No significant evidence shows that the NRPS affects private transfers or health behaviors. These findings provide relevant evidence of the impacts of social pensions on individual behaviors and welfare for developing countries today and developed countries in the past.

JEL-codes: H55 I38 J14 O18 P25 P36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

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DOI: 10.1257/app.20170789

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