Labor Market Conditions and Social Insurance in China

33 Pages Posted: 12 Nov 2014 Last revised: 21 Nov 2014

See all articles by Johanna Karin Rickne

Johanna Karin Rickne

Stockholm University - Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI)

Date Written: October 14, 2014

Abstract

Fifteen years after the introduction of highly ambitious social insurance programs for urban Chinese workers, a large number of them remain un-insured. This paper examines the relationship between labor market conditions and social insurance participation among industrial firms in the pre-crisis years of 2000-2007. I find that increased labor tightness over this period was a quantitatively important driver of participation. Comparing different segments of the labor market, stronger response to tightness is found in sectors with the largest shares of un-insured: private firms, those with a larger share of low-educated workers, and those without labor unions. Increased tightness in the years ahead can therefore be expected to aid policy makers in social insurance implementation and in combating insurance inequality.

Keywords: social insurance, employer participation, labor market tightness, People’s Republic of China

JEL Classification: J64, J65, D21

Suggested Citation

Rickne, Johanna Karin, Labor Market Conditions and Social Insurance in China (October 14, 2014). IFN Working Paper No. 924, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2509962 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2509962

Johanna Karin Rickne (Contact Author)

Stockholm University - Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) ( email )

Kyrkgatan 43B
SE-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

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