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An Evaluation of the Impact of the Pension System on Income Inequality: USA, UK, Netherlands, Italy and Türkiye

Author

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  • Can Verberi

    (Sirnak University)

  • Muhittin Kaplan

    (Ibn Haldun Universtiy)

Abstract

This study examines empirically the impact of various characteristics of pension systems, in particular their quality and integrity, on income inequality, utilizing micro-level data from the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Türkiye and Italy. To this end, the income inequality model, which includes public pension (or public/private pension mix), age, education, gender, marital status and employment as independent variables, has been estimated using quantile regression. The results provide a number of valuable information on the impact of the pension system on income inequality: (i) Public pension income significantly reduces overall income inequality across almost all inequality groups in all countries, except for the UK and the Netherlands; (ii) Different types of pension systems vary significantly in their redistributive effects on income; (iii) The empirical results also show that the effect of different pension systems on inequality changes by inequality groups significantly.

Suggested Citation

  • Can Verberi & Muhittin Kaplan, 2024. "An Evaluation of the Impact of the Pension System on Income Inequality: USA, UK, Netherlands, Italy and Türkiye," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 905-931, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:174:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-024-03417-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-024-03417-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Personal income inequality; Pension system types; Public/private pension mix; Quantile regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

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