The impact of old age security on rural women's labor supply: Evidence from China's new rural social pension insurance program

This paper investigates the effects of the New Rural Social Pension Insurance Program (NRSPI) program on rural women's labor supply in China, using panel data from two waves of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). After controlling for endogenous bias using an instrumental variable, we find that participation in the NRSPI program significantly increases the probability of rural female pension contributors participating in labor but has no significant impact on rural female pension recipients. Furthermore, the NRSPI program significantly impacts unmarried female pension contributors with low educational backgrounds, low health levels, and high family care burdens for children and the elderly. Most importantly, we also find that the impact of the NRSPI program on women's labor supply decisions is not only driven by income but also the vigorous promotion of the NRSPI program is changing China's traditional concept of "raising children to guard against old age," which has liberated women's labor supply. These results have essential reference significance for those developing countries that promote the reform of the pension system and have specific reference value for the Chinese government to formulate policies to balance the pension system and the birth system in the future.