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on Economics of Ageing |
| By: | Emma Aguila; Raquel Fonseca |
| Abstract: | This study explores how basic income for elderly (non-contributory pension program) affects the health of self-employed and salaried workers differently, which is particularly interesting given the greater social protection and lower income volatility of the latter. The study uses a cluster-randomized controlled trial that provides supplemental incomes to adults aged 70 or older in two towns in Yucatan, Mexico, and compares the effects of supplemental income over two waves for Valladolid (where eligible individuals received a monthly income supplement throughout the analysis period) and Motul (a demographically matched control town). The results indicate that self-employed workers experience a decrease in anemia, an improvement in peak expiratory flow, and better health care use and well-being. In contrast, salaried workers' health outcomes show no significant effect from the program. The program improves food availability for both selfemployed and salaried workers, but its impact on food availability is stronger for self-employed workers. |
| Keywords: | supplemental income, elderly, Mexico, health, lifetime occupation. |
| JEL: | I32 I14 J14 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsi:creeic:2403 |
| By: | Ander Iraizoz |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I investigate how individuals perceive the implicit contribution incentives provided by public pension systems. I use the unique setting of the Spanish public pension system, where self-employed workers are allowed to voluntarily determine the level of their Social Security contributions. Using quasi-experimental variations from three pension reforms, I find that most self-employed workers fail to take advantage of the extraordinary contribution incentives available in Spain, and often make suboptimal contribution choices. These results point to substantial challenges in perceiving implicit contribution incentives, which could lead to inefficiencies in raising Social Security contributions. Furthermore, my findings highlight the critical role of salience in improving the perception of contribution incentives, and thereby promoting greater economic efficiency. |
| Keywords: | contribution-benefit linkage, public pension, social security, salience |
| JEL: | D91 E21 H55 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11636 |
| By: | Carine Milcent (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | Background: Assessing frailty from middle age onward offers valuable insights into predicting healthcare expenditures throughout the life cycle. Objectives: This paper examines the use of physical frailty as an indicator of healthcare demand across all age groups. The originality of this work lies in extending the analysis of frailty indicators beyond the typical focus on individuals under 50 years old to include those in mid-life and older. Methods: For this study, we used a database where frailty was measured in 2012 in a sample of individuals aged 15 to over 90. These individuals were tracked for their healthcare expenditures from 2012 to 2016. Results: Among the sample of 6928 individuals, frailty in 2012 resulted in a statistically significant increase in costs at the 5% level for the population aged 15 to 65. We applied multilevel linear regression models with year fixed effects, controlling for demographic factors, education level, precarity, social dimensions, lifestyle factors (e.g., vegetable consumption), physical activity, emotional well-being, and medical history. A Hausman test was conducted to validate the model choice. For mortality rate analysis, Cox models were used. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that physical frailty provides valuable information for understanding its impact on healthcare expenditure. The effect of frailty on mortality is particularly significant for the elderly population. Moreover, frailty is a predictor of healthcare costs not only in older adults but also across the entire life cycle. |
| Keywords: | Healthcare expenditure, Frailty indicator, Adult life, Mortality |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-04784103 |
| By: | Martina Celidoni; Nita Handastya; Guglielmo Weber; Nancy Zambon |
| Abstract: | This study documents the relationship between computer skills/digital literacy and influenza vaccination take-up among older adults in Europe during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe, we find a positive partial association between influenza vaccination take-up and two indicators of computer skills/digital literacy, self-assessed pre-pandemic computer skills and having used a computer at work in any pre-pandemic job. We do not estimate significant behavioural changes for individuals with better computer skills that may have been driven by spillover effects from the pandemic experience. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2501.17005 |
| By: | Costa, Dora; Bygren, Lars Olov; Graf, Benedikt; Karlsson, Martin; Price, Joseph |
| Abstract: | Explanations for the West’s escape from premature mortality have focused on chronic malnutrition or income and on public health or state capacity. We argue that by ignoring the multigenerational effects of variance in ancestors’ harvests, we are underestimating the contribution of modern economic growth to the escape from early death at older ages. Using a newly constructed multigenerational dataset for Sweden, we show that grandsons’ longevity was strongly linked to spatial shocks in paternal grandfathers’ yearly harvest variability when agricultural productivity was low and market integration was limited. We reason that an epigenetic mechanism is the most plausible explanation for our findings. We posit that the removal of trade barriers, improvements in transportation, and agricultural innovation reduced harvest variability. We contend that for older Swedish men (but not women) born 1830-1909 this reduction was as important as decreasing contemporaneous infectious disease rates and more important than eliminating exposure to poor harvests in-utero. |
| Keywords: | JEL classification: I15, J11, N33 |
| Date: | 2025–01–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajt:wcinch:82948 |
| By: | Poggi Ambra (Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of Turin, Torino, Italy); Simeone Enza (Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of Turin, Torino, Italy) |
| Keywords: | Social Capital; Regional Resources; Inequality; Mixed-effects Model |
| JEL: | I14 C23 D30 R10 O57 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tur:wpapnw:097 |
| By: | Benjamin Bridgman |
| Abstract: | Longevity contributes to welfare, but little is known about the relationship between wealth and longevity prior to World War II. This paper examines longevity of the very highest income people during the 20th century using several “rich lists.” I find that the very wealthy did not have lower mortality early on. Life expectancy at age 40 flipped from a 1.9 year penalty to a 7.5 year bonus. This increase in longevity inequality has a welfare impact that is an order of magnitude larger than increasing consumption inequality from 1950 to 1985. The urban longevity penalty of the early 20th century, particularly due to poor air quality, likely contributed to the rich penalty. The rich, a very urban population, died from causes that were more common in urban areas, particularly pneumonia. |
| JEL: | D31 E01 E21 J11 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bea:papers:0135 |
| By: | Julia M. Puaschunder (Columbia University, New York, United States) |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming human societies. In the many attempts to capture the novel trend of AI entering in all aspects of human life these days, hardly any research covers intergenerational aspects of AI encroaching society. Intergenerational aspects concern all features of the interaction and interrelatedness of overlapping generations. In the long-term evolution of AI, intergenerational transfers that resemble human family compounds should be considered. When analyzing the relation of AI with intergenerational human features, benefits as well as costs and risks are highlighted. As for the benefits in the interaction of AI with human beings, information storage opportunities of AI allow for more intergenerational transfers and richer communication opportunities between generations than ever before in the history of humankind. Intergenerational potentials of AI must also be evaluated with caution for AI aspects that may impose negative externalities for society. The eternally living character of AI raises questions of sustainability and the fear of crowding out humanness in the artificial age exist. Overall, AI development must be staged with a logic of cost and benefits weighting in order to ensure to harvest the upsides of AI with attention for potential downfalls and risks. All these efforts will help fostering richer and more efficient collaboration among generations but also ensure equitable, sustainable and inclusive AI development. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence, cultural transmission, ethics, intergenerational equity, sustainable development, workforce evolution |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:raiswp:0459 |