Population ageing and income inequality

Abstract

Population ageing continues to progress at a rapid pace in South Korea. In this paper, we measure the effects of ageing on income inequality. We apply a novel econometric model, RIF regression methodology, to estimate the effect of marginal substitution between age groups, such as, for instance, a swap between the 35–44 age group (the reference group) and the 65 and older group. Our estimates indicate that the Gini coefficient increases by 0.010–0.022 when 10%p of the reference group is marginally substituted by the 65 and above group. It turns out that, when estimating the effects of population ageing on household income at different income quantiles, ageing decreases household income across the entire income distribution. On the other hand, when we control for individual characteristics, the overall impact of population ageing diminishes, and the household income of higher-income individuals actually increases.