Does a Universal Non-Contributory Pension Scheme Make Sense for Rural China?

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ce Shen ◽  
John B. Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Rural China ◽  
Pension Scheme

The new rural social pension program in rural China: participation and its correlates

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiran Zhao ◽  
Stephan Brosig ◽  
Renfu Luo ◽  
Linxiu Zhang ◽  
Ai Yue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Rural China ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pension Program ◽  
Social Pension ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The need for a universal rural pension system has been heightened by demographic changes in rural China, including the rapid aging of the nation’s rural population and a dramatic decline in fertility. In response to these changes, China’s Government introduced the New Rural Social Pension Program (NRSPP) in 2009, a voluntary and highly subsidized pension scheme. The purpose of this paper is to assess the participation of rural farmers in the NRSPP. Furthermore, the authors examine whether the NRSPP affects the labor supply of the elderly population in China. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses household-level data from a sample of 2,020 households originating from a survey conducted by the authors in five provinces, 25 counties, and 101 villages in rural China. Using a probit model and conducting correlation analysis, the authors demonstrate the factors affecting the participation and the impact of NRSPP on labor supply of the rural elderly. Findings The results show there are several factors that are correlated with participation, such as specific policy variant in force in the respective household's province, the size of the pension payout from government, the age of sample individuals, and the value of household durable assets. Specifically, different characteristics of NRSPP policy implementation increase participation in China’s social pension program. The results suggest that the introduction of the NRSPP has not affected the labor supply of the rural elderly, in general, although it has reduced participation for the elderly who were in poor health. Originality/value Several previous studies have covered the NRSPP. However, all previous studies were based on case studies or just focused on a small region, and for this reason the results cannot reflect the populations and heterogeneity of rural areas. Therefore, a data set with a large sample size is used in this paper to provide a new perspective to fully understand the participation of NRSPP and its impacts on rural households. This paper will make an update contribution to the literature in the area of pension programs in China.

scholarly journals Public Pension, Labor Force Participation, and Depressive Symptoms across Gender among Older Adults in Rural China: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3193
Author(s):  
Xin Gao ◽  
Tieying Feng
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Labor Force Participation ◽  
Mediation Analysis ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Moderated Mediation ◽  
Public Pension ◽  
Pension Scheme

Due to insufficient financial support and unceasing work, the rural elderly in China experience a range of mental disorders, and the most common one is depression. This study aims to investigate the association between public pension, labor force participation (LFP), and depressive symptoms for older men and women in rural China. A moderated mediation analysis is conducted using data in the 2015 wave extracted from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a continuous national social survey. A total of 2709 available surveys were obtained in our analysis. Using PROCESS, results revealed that the income from China’s New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) was directly negatively related to depressive symptoms. However, LFP did not mediate the link between pension income (PI) and depressive symptoms in the total study population. The results of moderated mediation estimates indicated that gender significantly moderated the relationship between LFP and depressive symptoms. Specifically, for older women, the indirect effect of PI on depressive symptoms via LFP was significant, but not for the opposite sex. In order to improve the mental health of older adults in rural China, the policy makers and mental health therapists need to pay attention to the aforementioned factors.

Public pension and borrowing behavior: evidence from rural China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Conglong Fang ◽  
Qinghua Shi
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Public Pension ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rural Credit ◽  
Rural Credit Cooperatives ◽  
Credit Cooperatives

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how China's rural public pension affects farmers' formal borrowing, which has always been rationed.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a difference-in-difference (DID) estimation to evaluate the effect of the implementation of the New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) at the end of 2009 on farmers' formal borrowing.FindingsThe results show that the NRPS significantly reduces farmers' formal borrowing from rural credit cooperatives (RCCs). The effect is significant among the elderly, eastern China and high-income groups.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by identifying another potential reason for rural formal credit shortage. Policymakers and rural formal financial institutions should consider the demand side problem of lending.

scholarly journals The Impact of the New Rural Pension Scheme on Retirement Sustainability in China: Evidences of Regional Differences in Formal and Informal Labor Supply

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benxi Lin ◽  
Zongjian Lin ◽  
Yu Yvette Zhang ◽  
Weiping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Rural China ◽  
The Other ◽  
Western China ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Severe Problem ◽  
Informal Labor ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

This paper evaluates the effect of China’s New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) on the retirement sustainability in forms of both formal labor supply and informal labor supply, using data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). We explore the regional differences of the NRPS effect on labor supply between the Western regions and the other regions of China. Our analysis shows that western rural China has a more severe problem of “ceaseless toil” compared to the rest of the country. We find that NRPS improves the “ceaseless toil” situation of the Chinese rural elderly, and the results show a very different pattern between western China and other parts of the country.

Does the New Rural Pension Scheme crowd out private transfers from children to parents? Empirical evidence from China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-430
Author(s):  
Manxiu Ning ◽  
Weiping Liu ◽  
Jinquan Gong ◽  
Xudong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural China ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Heterogeneous Effects ◽  
Crowd Out ◽  
Pension Payment ◽  
Private Transfers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) on the private transfer behavior of the non-co-resident adult children to their elderly parents in rural China, and hence address the income redistribution effectiveness of public program for the elderly in rural China. Design/methodology/approach Pooled data from two waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and the combination of regression discontinuity design and difference in difference method are used to perform the analysis. Findings No evidence is found that pension payment from NRPS program does significantly crowd out the economic support from the adult children to their elder parents. The heterogeneous effects at different income percentile indicate that pension payment significantly increases the probability of receiving gross transfers and likelihood of the net transfer being positive for those elderly individuals with low income; in particular, the distinctive “family binding” arrangement may dramatically contribute to increasing the probability of receiving private transfers for the pension recipients. Originality/value The empirical findings would have far-reaching implications for the efficacy of public transfer or re-distributive programs such as NRPS; for the rural elderly, in particular, the unique “family binding” mechanism under the NRPS program may have positive welfare effects on the intended beneficiaries. Furthermore, an understanding of the inter-linkage between informal arrangements of elderly support and social re-distributive program provides further insight into the design of social security systems targeted to the vulnerable group in developing countries.

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