New Rural Social Pension Insurance, Income and the Happiness of Rural Residents

Abstract

With the implementation of the New Rural Social Pension Insurance (NRSPI) in China, many rural elderly people benefit from this program. But will the same grade of pension produce the same utility for each individual? This paper analyzes the panel data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2018, and uses the Continuous-Difference In Differences(Continuous DID) model to investigate the effect of the NRSPI on happiness improvement in individuals with different incomes. The results show that the pension can significantly improve the satisfaction of the rural elderly, and this utility will decrease with the increase of income. This study has reference significance for rural residents to choose the grade of the insurance according to their personal situation, and has reference value for the government to improve the old-age insurance policy.