IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/asieco/v78y2022ics1049007821001482.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The heterogeneous effects of employment-based pension policies on employment: Evidence from urban China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Fang
  • Xu, Jiayi
  • Fang, Guanfu

Abstract

Pension contributions are usually non-trivial labor costs for firms in formal sectors. This paper aims to examine the heterogeneous effects of employer pension contribution rates on employment by exploiting temporal and spatial variations in the statutory pension contribution rates of the Basic Old-Age Insurance (BOAI) in urban China. We refer to the China’s Urban Household Survey (UHS) (2002–2009), in order to demonstrate that increasing the employer statutory pension contribution rates leads to a decrease in employment in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and an increase in employment in private enterprises. Overall, the pension contribution rates for employers has no obvious effects on total employment. Our results highlight that private sector employment can be an important mechanism to absorb displaced workers produced by labor market policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Fang & Xu, Jiayi & Fang, Guanfu, 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of employment-based pension policies on employment: Evidence from urban China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:78:y:2022:i:c:s1049007821001482
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2021.101420
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049007821001482
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.asieco.2021.101420?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan Gruber & Kevin Milligan & David A. Wise, 2009. "Social Security Programs and Retirement Around the World: The Relationship to Youth Employment, Introduction and Summary," NBER Working Papers 14647, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Bergolo, M. & Cruces, G., 2021. "The anatomy of behavioral responses to social assistance when informal employment is high," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    3. Eduardo Lora & Johanna Fajardo-González, 2016. "Employment and taxes in Latin America: An empirical study of the effects of payroll, corporate income and value-added taxes on labor outcomes," REVISTA CUADERNOS DE ECONOMÍA, UN - RCE - CID, vol. 35(Especial ), pages 75-117, January.
    4. Eduardo Lora & Johanna Fajardo-González, 2016. "Employment and taxes in Latin America: An empirical study of the effects of payroll, corporate income and value-added taxes on labor outcomes," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, vol. 35(Especial ), pages 75-117, January.
    5. Mathieu Bunel & Yannick L'Horty, 2012. "The Effects of Reduced Social Security Contributions on Employment: An Evaluation of the 2003 French Reform," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 371-398, September.
    6. Matthieu Bunel & Fabrice Gilles & Yannick L'Horty, 2009. "The effect of social security payroll tax reductions on employment and wages: an evaluation of the 2003 French reform," Working Papers hal-01292089, HAL.
    7. Gruber, Jonathan, 1994. "The Incidence of Mandated Maternity Benefits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 622-641, June.
    8. Kohei Komamura & Atsuhiro Yamada, 2004. "Who Bears the Burden of Social Insurance?," NBER Working Papers 10339, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Catherine Hausman & David S. Rapson, 2018. "Regression Discontinuity in Time: Considerations for Empirical Applications," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 533-552, October.
    10. Azuara, Oliver & Marinescu, Ioana, 2013. "Informality and the expansion of social protection programs: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 938-950.
    11. Andrew C. Johnston, 2021. "Unemployment Insurance Taxes and Labor Demand: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Administrative Data," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 266-293, February.
    12. Jonathan Gruber & Alan B. Krueger, 1991. "The Incidence of Mandated Employer-Provided Insurance: Lessons from Workers' Compensation Insurance," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 5, pages 111-144, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Jonathan Gruber & David A. Wise, 2004. "Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Micro-Estimation," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number grub04-1.
    14. Wallenius, Johanna, 2013. "Social security and cross-country differences in hours: A general equilibrium analysis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 2466-2482.
    15. Adriana Camacho & Emily Conover & Alejandro Hoyos, 2014. "Effects of Colombia's Social Protection System on Workers' Choice between Formal and Informal Employment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(3), pages 446-466.
    16. Komamura, Kohei & Yamada, Atsuhiro, 2004. "Who bears the burden of social insurance? Evidence from Japanese health and long-term care insurance data," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 565-581, December.
    17. Laun, Tobias & Wallenius, Johanna, 2015. "A life cycle model of health and retirement: The case of Swedish pension reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 127-136.
    18. Stock, James H & Wise, David A, 1990. "Pensions, the Option Value of Work, and Retirement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(5), pages 1151-1180, September.
    19. Garganta, Santiago & Gasparini, Leonardo, 2015. "The impact of a social program on labor informality: The case of AUH in Argentina," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 99-110.
    20. Simon, Curtis J., 1998. "Human Capital and Metropolitan Employment Growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 223-243, March.
    21. Yu-Wei Hu & Fiona Stewart, 2009. "Pension Coverage and Informal Sector Workers: International Experiences," OECD Working Papers on Insurance and Private Pensions 31, OECD Publishing.
    22. William A. Darity & Patrick L. Mason, 1998. "Evidence on Discrimination in Employment: Codes of Color, Codes of Gender," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 63-90, Spring.
    23. Santiago Levy & Norbert Schady, 2013. "Latin America's Social Policy Challenge: Education, Social Insurance, Redistribution," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(2), pages 193-218, Spring.
    24. Kodama, Naomi & Yokoyama, Izumi, 2015. "How the 2003 Social Insurance Premium Reform Affects Firm Behavior," CIS Discussion paper series 650, Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yu, Yan-Yan & Liu, Li-Jing & Wang, He-Jing, 2024. "Who is most affected by carbon tax? Evidence from Chinese residents in the context of aging," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    2. Li, Rui & Zhu, Zhikai & Wang, Xiaoyan, 2023. "Pension insurance contributions and ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laun, Tobias & Wallenius, Johanna, 2015. "A life cycle model of health and retirement: The case of Swedish pension reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 127-136.
    2. Kim, Jinyoung & Kim, Seonghoon & Koh, Kanghyock, 2022. "Labor market institutions and the incidence of payroll taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    3. Tobias Laun & Johanna Wallenius, 2016. "Social Insurance and Retirement: A Cross-Country Perspective," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 22, pages 72-92, October.
    4. Liepmann, Hannah & Pignatti, Clemente, 2024. "Welfare effects of unemployment benefits when informality is high," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    5. Sean Higgins & Nora Lustig & Whitney Ruble & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2016. "Comparing the Incidence of Taxes and Social Spending in Brazil and the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(S1), pages 22-46, August.
    6. HAMAAKI Junya, 2016. "The Incidence of Health Insurance Costs: Empirical evidence from Japan," Discussion papers 16020, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    7. Santiago Garganta & Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni, 2017. "Cash transfers and female labor force participation: the case of AUH in Argentina," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-22, December.
    8. Nielsen, Ingrid & Smyth, Russell, 2008. "Who bears the burden of employer compliance with social security contributions? Evidence from Chinese firm level data," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 230-244, June.
    9. Cuadros-Meñaca, Andres, 2020. "Remittances, health insurance, and pension contributions: Evidence from Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    10. Eric French & John Bailey Jones, 2017. "Health, Health Insurance, and Retirement: A Survey," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 383-409, September.
    11. Xavier Jara & David Rodríguez, 2019. "Financial disincentives to formal work: Evidence from Ecuador and Colombia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-14, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Alonso-Ortiz, Jorge, 2014. "Social security and retirement across the OECD," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 300-316.
    13. Esteban-Pretel, Julen & Kitao, Sagiri, 2021. "Labor Market Policies in a Dual Economy," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Adriaan Kalwij & Frederic Vermeulen, 2008. "Health and labour force participation of older people in Europe: What do objective health indicators add to the analysis?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(5), pages 619-638, May.
    15. Bergolo, M. & Cruces, G., 2021. "The anatomy of behavioral responses to social assistance when informal employment is high," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    16. Carla Canelas & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2022. "Informality and Pension Reforms in Bolivia: The Case of Renta Dignidad," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(7), pages 1436-1458, July.
    17. Leonardo Fabio Morales & Carlos Medina, 2017. "Assessing the Effect of Payroll Taxes on Formal Employment: The Case of the 2012 Tax Reform in Colombia," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2017), pages 75-124, November.
    18. McKay Andy & Pirttilä Jukka & Schimanski Caroline, 2018. "The Elasticity of Formal Work in African Countries," Working Papers 1820, Tampere University, Faculty of Management and Business, Economics.
    19. Ángel Melguizo & José González-Páramo, 2013. "Who bears labour taxes and social contributions? A meta-analysis approach," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 247-271, August.
    20. Junya Hamaaki & Yasushi Iwamoto, 2010. "A Reappraisal Of The Incidence Of Employer Contributions To Social Security In Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 61(3), pages 427-441, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Basic old-age insurance; Employer contribution rate; Heterogeneous effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:78:y:2022:i:c:s1049007821001482. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/asieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.