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Can Pensions Save Lives? Evidence from the Introduction of Old-Age Assistance in the United Kingdom

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  • Jaeger, Philipp
  • Schacht-Picozzi, Philip

Abstract

We study the impact of old-age assistance on mortality using the 1909 introduction of public pensions in the United Kingdom as a quasi-natural experiment. Estimating difference-in-differences and an event-time design, we show that elderly mortality in England and Wales declined with the pension introduction. The estimated decline is economically relevant, stronger in counties with more pensioners, and driven by fewer deaths from both infectious and non-infectious diseases. Analyzing full-count individual-level census data points to a reduction in residential crowding and retirement, especially from occupations associated with high mortality rates, as likely channels.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaeger, Philipp & Schacht-Picozzi, Philip, 2026. "Can Pensions Save Lives? Evidence from the Introduction of Old-Age Assistance in the United Kingdom," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 86(3), pages -4, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:86:y:2026:i:3:p:_4
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