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The effect of population aging on pension enforcement: Do firms bear the burden?

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  • Jiakai Zhang
  • Renjie Zhao

Abstract

Population aging is widely assumed to have detrimental effects on economic development, especially through an increased social security burden. This paper starts with the potential problems of the pension system in China. We investigate how local governments respond to population aging and the impact of population aging on the firm pension contributions using administrative data from the period 2008–2015. We present three findings. First, population aging increases the pension contributions of firms. Second, fiscal pressure is the channel through which population aging affects pension enforcement. Last, the pension administration system could affect the net impact of population aging.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiakai Zhang & Renjie Zhao, 2022. "The effect of population aging on pension enforcement: Do firms bear the burden?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(4), pages 1644-1662, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:60:y:2022:i:4:p:1644-1662
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13103
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