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Funding of pensions and economic growth: are they really related?*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2012

EELCO ZANDBERG  and
LAURA SPIERDIJK
EELCO ZANDBERG
Affiliation:
University of Groningen (Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance) and Netspar (e-mail: [email protected])
LAURA SPIERDIJK
Affiliation:
University of Groningen (Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance) and Netspar
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Abstract

We examine whether changes in the degree of pension funding affect economic growth. Our sample consists of 54 countries, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as well as non-OECD, during 2001–10. We do not find any effect of changes in the degree of funding on growth in the short-run. For the long-run the evidence is mixed. Although a growth model with overlapping observations suggests that there is a positive effect of funding changes on economic growth, we find no effect in a simple cross-sectional model.

Keywords

C23J26Pension reformpension fundingeconomic growth
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Pension Economics & Finance , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 151 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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