Abstract
This study assesses the influence of the Chilean old-age pension model on the life satisfaction of older adults across the world. Numerous countries have implemented similar old-age pension reforms, combining individualization of risk through pension privatization and redistribution of resources through mechanisms such as non-contributory pensions. Using data for 126,560 adults age 45 and over living in 91 countries over the period 1981–2008, and employing three-level hierarchical linear regressions, this study finds that on average redistribution increases life satisfaction, while individualization has no significant effect. However, the relationship between pension policy and life satisfaction varies in complex ways across countries.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Allison, D. (2002). Missing data. Sage University paper series on quantitative application in the social sciences no. 07-136. Thousand Oaks: Sage University.
Babb, S. (2005). The social consequences of structural adjustment: Recent evidence and current debates. Annual Review of Sociology, 31, 199–222.
Barrientos, A., & Hulme, D. (2008). Social protection for the poor and the poorest. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bataille, G. (1998). The accursed share: An essay on general economy. New York: Zone Books.
Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity. London: Sage.
Béland, D. (2005a). Ideas and social policy: An institutionalist perspective. Social Policy and Administration, 39, 1–18.
Béland, D. (2005b). Social security: History and politics from the new deal to the privatization debate. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
Berkman, F., Thomas, G., Ian, B., & Teresa, E. (2000). From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social Science & Medicine, 51, 843–857.
Bertranou, M., Solorio, C., & van Ginneken, W. (2002). Pensiones No Contributivas y Asistenciales: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Costa Rica y Uruguay. Santiago: International Labour Organization.
Bjørnskov, C., Dreher, A., & Fischer, J. (2007). The bigger the better? Evidence of the effect of government size on life satisfaction around the world. Public Choice, 130, 267–292.
Bonini, A. (2008). Cross national variation in individual life satisfaction: Effects of national wealth, human development, and environmental conditions. Social Indicators Research, 87, 223–236.
Botty, S., & Iyengar, S. (2006). The dark side of choice: When choice impairs social welfare. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 25, 24–38.
Boudon, R. (2003). Beyond rational choice theory. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 1–21.
Brown, S. (2006). Examining the adoption of old-age security programs in the developing world. Sociological Perspectives, 48, 505–529.
Burkhauser, R., & Lillard, D. (2005). The contribution and potential of data harmonization for cross-national comparative research. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 7, 1–18.
Calvo, E., & Williamson, B. (2008). Old-age pension reform and modernization pathways: Lessons for China from Latin America. Journal of Aging Studies, 22, 74–87.
Calvo, E., Haverstick, K., & Sass, S. (2009). Gradual retirement, sense of control, and retirees’ happiness. Research on Aging, 31, 112–135.
Calvo, E., Bertranou, F., & Bertranou, E. (2010). Are old-age pension system reforms moving away from individual retirement accounts in Latin America? Journal of Social Policy, 39, 223–234.
Calvo, E.. (2015a). Individualization and redistribution: A two-dimensional pension policy model. Unpublished manuscript.
Calvo, E., Mair, C., and Sarkisian, N. (2015b). Individual troubles, shared troubles: The multiplicative effect of individual and country-level unemployment on life satisfaction in 95 nations (1981–2009). Social Forces 93(4):1625–53.
Calvo, E., Sarkisian, N., & Tamborini, C. (2013). Causal effects of retirement timing on subjective physical and emotional health. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 68, 73–84.
Campbell, J. (2002). Ideas, politics, and public policy. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 21–38.
Case, A., & Deaton, A. (1998). Large scale transfers to the elderly in South Africa. The Economic Journal, 108, 1261–1330.
Clark, G., Munnell, A., & Orszag, P. (2005). Pension and retirement income in a global environment. In G. Clark, A. Munnell, & J. Orszag (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of pensions and retirement income. New York: Oxford University Press.
Collins, R. (2004). Interaction ritual chains. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Diener, E., Diener, M., & Diener, C. (1995). Factors predicting the subjective well-being of nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 851–864.
Diener, E., Suh, M., Lucas, R., & Smith, H. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.
Dion, M., & Roberts, A. (2008). Sources of support for pension reform: A cross-national perspective (Working Paper No. 2008-23). Chestnut Hill: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Di Tella, R., MacCulloch, R., & Oswald, A. (2003). The macroeconomics of happiness. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 85, 809–827.
Elder, H., & Rudolph, P. (1999). Does retirement planning affect the level of retirement satisfaction? Financial Services Review, 8, 117–127.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1999). Social foundations of postindustrial economies. New York: Oxford University Press.
Estes, C. (2001). Social policy and aging: A critical perspective. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Frey, B., & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature, 40, 402–435.
George, L. (2006). Perceived quality of life. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (6th ed.). San Diego: Elsevier.
Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Gilbert, D. (2005). Stumbling on happiness. New York: Vintage Books.
Gill, I., Packard, T., & Yermo, J. (2005). Keeping the promise of social security in Latin America. Washington, DC: The World Bank/Stanford University Press.
Gillion, C., Turner, J., Bailey, C., & Latulippe, D. (2000). Social security pensions: Development and reform. Geneva: International Labour Organization.
Habermas, J. (2001). The postnational constellation: Political essays. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Help Age International. (2004). Age and security: How social pensions can deliver effective aid to poor older people and their families. Available at http://www.helpage.org/
Help Age International. (2006). Why social pensions are needed now. Available at http://www.helpage.org/
Holzmann, R., & Hinz, R. (2005). Old age income support in the 21st century. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Inglehart, R. (2003). Human values and social change: Findings from the values surveys. Leiden: Brill.
Inglehart, R. (2008). Changing values among western publics from 1970 to 2006. West European Politics, 31, 130–146.
Inglehart, R., & Baker, W. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65, 19–51.
Johnson, J., & Williamson, J. (2008). Universal non-contributory pension schemes for low-income countries: An assessment. In P. Kemp, K. Bosch, & L. Smith (Eds.), Social protection in an ageing world (International Studies on Social Security, Vol. 13). Belgium: Intersentia.
Kay, S., & Sinha, T. (2008). Lessons from pension reform in the Americas. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kim, J., & Moen, P. (2002). Retirement transitions, gender, and psychological well-being: A life-course, ecological model. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 57B, 212–222.
Luhmann, N. (1993). Risk: A sociological theory. New York: Walter de Gruyter.
Luke, D. (2004). Multilevel modeling (Sage University paper series on quantitative application in the social sciences no. 07–143). Thousand Oaks: Sage University.
Mares, I., & Carnes, M. (2009). Social policy in developing countries. Annual Review of Political Science, 12, 93–113.
Massey, D. (2002). A brief history of human emotions society: The origin and role of emotion in social life. American Sociological Review, 67, 1–29.
Mauss, M. (1967). The gift: Forms and functions of exchange in Archaic societies. New York: Norton.
Mesa-Lago, C. (2005). Assessing the World Bank report keeping the promise. International Social Security Review, 58, 97–118.
Morandé, P. (1984). Cultura y Modernización en América Latina. Santiago: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Myles, J., & Pierson, P. (2001). The comparative political economy of pension reform. The new politics of the welfare state. New York: Oxford University Press.
Orloff, A. (1993). The politics of pensions: A comparative analysis of Canada, Great Britain and the United States 1980–1940. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Ouweneel, P. (2002). Social security and well-being of the unemployed in 42 nations. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 167–192.
Peterson, G. (2007). Cultural theory and emotions. In Stets, J. Handbook of the sociology of emotions. New York: Springer.
Pierson, P. (1994). Dismantling the welfare state? Reagan, Thatcher, and the politics of retrenchment. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Pierson, P. (2001). The new politics of the welfare state. New York: Oxford University Press.
Quadagno, J. (2005). One nation, uninsured: Why the U.S. has no national health insurance. New York: Oxford University Press.
Radcliff, B. (2001). Politics, markets, and life satisfaction: The political economy of human happiness. American Political Science Review, 95, 939–952.
Raudenbush, S., & Bryk, S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Rojas, M., & Martínez, I. (2012). Measurement, research and inclusion in public policy of subjective wellbeing: Latin America. Report by the Commission for the Study and Promotion of Wellbeing in Latin America. Mexico: Foro Consultivo Científico y Tecnológico.
Royston, P. (2004). Multiple imputation of missing values. Stata Journal, 4, 277–41.
Schuartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: Why more is less? New York: Harper Collins.
Shuey, K., & O’Rand, A. (2004). New risks for workers: Pensions, labor markets, and gender. Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 453–477.
Silverstein, M., & Parker, M. (2002). Leisure activities and quality of life among the oldest old in Sweden. Research on Aging, 24, 528–547.
Skocpol, T. (1990). Thinking big: Can national values explain the development of social provision in the United States? A review essay. Journal of Policy History, 2, 425–438.
Skocpol, T. (1992). Protecting soldiers and mothers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Stets, J., & Turner, J. (2007). Handbook of the sociology of emotions. New York: Springer.
Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2008). Economic growth and subjective well-being: Reassessing the Easterlin paradox. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1, 1–87.
Suh, E., & Oishi, S. (2004). Culture and subjective well-being: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 219–222.
Turner, J., & Stets, J. (2006). Sociological theories of human emotions. Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 25–52.
United Nations. (2013). UNdata. New York: United Nations. Available at http://data.un.org/
U.S. Social Security Administration and International Social Security Association (SSA-ISSA). (1979–2013). Social security programs throughout the world (periodic reports). Washington, DC.
Veenhoven, R. (2000). Wellbeing in the welfare state: Level not higher, distribution not more equitable. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 2, 91–125.
Veenhoven, R. (2009). Happiness in nations, introductory text. Rotterdam: World Database of Happiness, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Available at http://www2.eur.nl/
Waine, B. (2006). Ownership and security: Individualized pensions and pension policy in the United Kingdom and the United States. Competition and Change, 10, 321–337.
Whiteside, N. (2005). Private pensions and public policy: The public-private divide reappraised. The Oxford handbook of pensions and retirement income. New York: Oxford University Press.
World Bank. (1994). Averting the old age crisis: Policies to protect the old and promote growth. New York: World Bank/Oxford University Press.
World Bank. (2013). World development indicators. Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Available at http://www.worldbank.org/
World Values Survey and European Values Survey (WVS-EVS). (2013). Integrated EVS-WVS Database, 1981–2008. Available at http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/
Yang, Y. (2008). Social inequalities in happiness in the United States, 1972 to 2004: An age-period-cohort analysis. American Sociological Review, 73, 204–226.
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges partial financial support from Fondecyt #11100176 and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, and would like to thank Ariel Azar, Armando Barrientos, Maureen Berho, Nicolas Contreras, Amelia del Villar, Paula Errázuriz, Catalina Figueroa, Aranzazu Garmendia, Barbara Kritzer, James E. Lubben, Alicia H. Munnell, Natalia Sarkisian, Macarena Vivent, and John B. Williamson for their comments and other forms of help in connection to this research. However, the author should be held responsible for any errors or inaccuracies remaining in this chapter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Calvo, E. (2016). Does the Chilean Pension Model Influence Life Satisfaction? A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis. In: Rojas, M. (eds) Handbook of Happiness Research in Latin America. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7203-7_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7203-7_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-7202-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-7203-7
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)