RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Access to Pensions, Old-Age Support, and Child Investment in China
JF Journal of Human Resources
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 1639
OP 1670
DO 10.3368/jhr.0321-11555R3
VO 60
IS 5
A1 Shan, Xiaoyue
A1 Park, Albert
YR 2025
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/60/5/1639.abstract
AB This work studies how access to public pensions affects old-age support and child investment in traditional societies. Guided by predictions from an overlapping generations model, we analyze the influences of a new pension program in rural China, using a difference-in-differences approach. We find that the program crowds out transfers from working-age adults, especially men, to their elderly parents. Interestingly, the impact on child investment significantly differs by child gender. While adult parents increase educational investment in sons, their investment in daughters appears to decrease. Our findings highlight the unintended consequences of public pensions on parental investment.