IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i3p662-d201195.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Security and Sustainable Economic Growth: Based on the Perspective of Human Capital

Author

Listed:
  • Ming Zhang

    (School of Political Science and Public Administration, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Xiaorong Zou

    (School of Political Science and Public Administration, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Long Sha

    (School of Political Science and Public Administration, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

Abstract

China’s social security expenditure has rapidly grown during the past decade, and concerns about the impact of social security on productivity and sustained economic growth have attracted attention. Based on Chinese provincial panel data over the period 2007–2016, a threshold model analysis found that the impact of social security on productivity has a “double threshold” on human capital. Using dynamic panel data models and system General Moment Method estimators also found the existence of this threshold effect: When the human capital level is low or high, social security is favorable for sustained economic growth. However, if the human capital level is at the intermediate level, the function of social security is weak. The main conclusions were still valid after we examined the robustness of our results with several methods.

Suggested Citation

  • Ming Zhang & Xiaorong Zou & Long Sha, 2019. "Social Security and Sustainable Economic Growth: Based on the Perspective of Human Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:662-:d:201195
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/662/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/662/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 1996. "Privatization of Social Security: How It Works and Why It Matters," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 10, pages 1-32, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Sergio Scicchitano, 2010. "Complementarity between heterogeneous human capital and R&D: can job-training avoid low development traps?," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 361-380, November.
    3. Han, Chirok & Phillips, Peter C. B., 2010. "Gmm Estimation For Dynamic Panels With Fixed Effects And Strong Instruments At Unity," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(1), pages 119-151, February.
    4. Butter, Frank A.G. den & Kock, Udo, 2001. "Social security, economic growth and poverty : theoretical considerations and guidelines for institutional arrangements," Serie Research Memoranda 0002, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    5. Sergio Scicchitano, 2007. "On the complementarity between on-the-job training and R&D: a brief overview," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 15(2), pages 1-11.
    6. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    7. Mohamed Ben Mimoun & Asma Raies, 2009. "Education and economic growth: the role of public expenditures allocation," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(3), pages 2404-2416.
    8. Stephen Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to microdata methods and practice," CeMMAP working papers CWP09/02, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    9. Bucciol, Alessandro & Cavalli, Laura & Fedotenkov, Igor & Pertile, Paolo & Polin, Veronica & Sartor, Nicola & Sommacal, Alessandro, 2017. "A large scale OLG model for the analysis of the redistributive effects of policy reforms," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 104-127.
    10. Hansen, Bruce E., 1999. "Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels: Estimation, testing, and inference," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 345-368, December.
    11. Robert J. Barro, 2003. "Determinants of Economic Growth in a Panel of Countries," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 4(2), pages 231-274, November.
    12. Fogel, Robert W, 1994. "Economic Growth, Population Theory, and Physiology: The Bearing of Long-Term Processes on the Making of Economic Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 369-395, June.
    13. Barro, Robert J, 1990. "Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 103-126, October.
    14. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    15. Sala-i-Martin, Xavier X, 1996. "A Positive Theory of Social Security," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 277-304, June.
    16. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:15:y:2007:i:2:p:1-11 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Stephen R. Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to micro data methods and practice," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 1(2), pages 141-162, August.
    18. Redding, Stephen, 1996. "The Low-Skill, Low-Quality Trap: Strategic Complementarities between Human Capital and R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(435), pages 458-470, March.
    19. Benhabib, Jess & Spiegel, Mark M., 1994. "The role of human capital in economic development evidence from aggregate cross-country data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 143-173, October.
    20. Feldstein, Martin S, 1974. "Social Security, Induced Retirement, and Aggregate Capital Accumulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(5), pages 905-926, Sept./Oct.
    21. Sudhir Anand & Martin Ravallion, 1993. "Human Development in Poor Countries: On the Role of Private Incomes and Public Services," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 133-150, Winter.
    22. Gerhard Glomm & Michael Kaganovich, 2003. "Distributional Effects of Public Education in an Economy with Public Pensions," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 44(3), pages 917-937, August.
    23. William D. Nordhaus, 1998. "The Health of Nations: Irving Fisher and the Contribution of Improved Longevity to Living Standards," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1200, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    24. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    25. Windmeijer, Frank, 2005. "A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 25-51, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoxuan Yang, 2020. "Health expenditure, human capital, and economic growth: an empirical study of developing countries," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 163-176, June.
    2. Yangming Hu & Yingjun Wu & Wei Zhou & Tao Li & Liqing Li, 2020. "A three-stage DEA-based efficiency evaluation of social security expenditure in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-12, February.
    3. Yuzheng Zhang & Shirui He, 2023. "Local Government’s Land Finance Dependence and Migrants’ Settlement Intentions: Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, July.
    4. Christine Wen & Jeremy L. Wallace, 2019. "Toward Human-Centered Urbanization? Housing Ownership and Access to Social Insurance Among Migrant Households in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, June.
    5. Urgaia R. Worku, 2022. "The Role of Endogenous Technology in Making Sustained Economic Growth in Sub‒Saharan Africa: Panel GMM and VECM Approaches," World Journal of Business and Management, Macrothink Institute, vol. 8(2), pages 1-24, December.
    6. Hui Yang & Zeng Huang & Zhuoying Fu & Jiayou Dai & Yan Yang & Wei Wang, 2023. "Does Land Transfer Enhance the Sustainable Livelihood of Rural Households? Evidence from China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, August.
    7. Brahim Gaies, 2022. "Reassessing the impact of health expenditure on income growth in the face of the global sanitary crisis: the case of developing countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(9), pages 1415-1436, December.
    8. Zeeshan Ullah & Ahmad Arslan, 2022. "R&D contribution to sustainable product attributes development: The complementarity of human capital," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 902-915, October.
    9. Xiaoyu Deng & Jing Tian & Rong Chen, 2019. "Effect of Social Security System on Consumption through Income and Uncertainty: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Samargandi, Nahla & Fidrmuc, Jan & Ghosh, Sugata, 2015. "Is the Relationship Between Financial Development and Economic Growth Monotonic? Evidence from a Sample of Middle-Income Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 66-81.
    2. Raffaello Bronzini & Paolo Piselli, 2006. "Determinants of long-run regional productivity: the role of R&D, human capital and public infrastructure," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 597, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    3. Chang, Hsin-Chen & Huang, Bwo-Nung & Yang, Chin Wei, 2011. "Military expenditure and economic growth across different groups: A dynamic panel Granger-causality approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 2416-2423.
    4. Yongfu Huang, 2011. "Private investment and financial development in a globalized world," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 43-56, August.
    5. Bittencourt, Manoel, 2012. "Financial development and economic growth in Latin America: Is Schumpeter right?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 341-355.
    6. Rafiou Raphaël Bétila, 2021. "The impact of Ease of Doing Business on economic growth: a dynamic panel analysis for African countries," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(10), pages 1-34, October.
    7. Antonio Ruíz Porras & Guillermo Rosales Jaramillo, 2014. "Crecimiento económico, banca y desarrollo financiero: evidencia internacional," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 29(2), pages 263-300.
    8. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2007. "Down, Set, Hike: The Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies," Working Papers 0702, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    9. Peñasco, Cristina & del Río, Pablo & Romero-Jordán, Desiderio, 2017. "Gas and electricity demand in Spanish manufacturing industries: An analysis using homogeneous and heterogeneous estimators," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 45-60.
    10. Eftimoski, Dimitar, 2022. "On the inconclusive effect of human capital on growth: A new look at extended specifications," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 708-727.
    11. Bittencourt, Manoel, 2011. "Inflation and financial development: Evidence from Brazil," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 91-99.
    12. Scott, K. Rebecca, 2011. "Demand and Price Volatility: Rational Habits in International Gasoline Demand," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt2q87432b, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    13. Amable, Bruno & Demmou, Lila & Lezdema, Ivan, 2007. "Competition, Innovation and Distance to Frontier," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 0706, CEPREMAP.
    14. Mine Yilmazer & Serkan inar, 2015. "Human Capabilities and Economic Growth: A Comparative Human Capability Index," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(4), pages 843-853.
    15. Robert A Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor A Matheson, 2009. "Rejecting “Conventional” Wisdom: Estimating the Economic Impact of National Political Conventions," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 520-530.
    16. Federica Liberini, 2006. "Economic Growth and Infrastructure Gap in Latin America," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, vol. 96(6), pages 145-186, November-.
    17. Bronzini, Raffaello & Piselli, Paolo, 2009. "Determinants of long-run regional productivity with geographical spillovers: The role of R&D, human capital and public infrastructure," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 187-199, March.
    18. Xiaoxuan Yang, 2020. "Health expenditure, human capital, and economic growth: an empirical study of developing countries," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 163-176, June.
    19. Diby Francois Kassi & Yao Li & Zhankui Dong, 2023. "The mitigating effect of governance quality on the finance‐renewable energy‐growth nexus: Some international evidence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 316-354, January.
    20. Hasanov, Fakhri & Bulut, Cihan & Suleymanov, Elchin, 2017. "Review of energy-growth nexus: A panel analysis for ten Eurasian oil exporting countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 369-386.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:662-:d:201195. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.