American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Health Effects of Increasing Income for the Elderly: Evidence from a Chilean Pension Program
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 15,
no. 1, February 2023
(pp. 370–93)
Abstract
We estimate the effect of a permanent income increase on the health outcomes of the elderly poor. Our regression discontinuity design exploits an eligibility cutoff in a Chilean basic pension program that grants monthly payments to retirees without a contributory pension. Using administrative data, we find that four years after applying, basic pension recipients are 2.7 percentage points less likely to have died. Survey evidence suggests an increase in food consumption and visits to health centers as relevant drivers of the mortality reduction.Citation
Miglino, Enrico, Nicolás Navarrete H., Gonzalo Navarrete H., and Pablo Navarrete H. 2023. "Health Effects of Increasing Income for the Elderly: Evidence from a Chilean Pension Program." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 15 (1): 370–93. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200076Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
- G51 Household Finance: Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
- I12 Health Behavior
- I14 Health and Inequality
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
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