Ageing Society and China's Welfare Regime: Examining the Sub-National Variations in Pension Provision (2005-2015)

Abstract

Most research focussing on the welfare state is based on the assumption that welfare regimes are homogenous entities. However, substantial local differences exist in the provision of welfare services. This paper examines the factors causing marked regional differences in pension provision in China. The study finds that pension provision is segmented across four regional clusters depending on the level of pension coverage and generosity. The analysis reveals that regional fiscal capacity is the strongest predictor of
pension differences across the four clusters which in turn is a consequence of the institutional stickiness from the policy priorities generated through the economic reforms. This path dependent mode of policy making is reflected along the two gauges of preferential policy index and location quotient of regional industrial development. The welfare regionalism in case of pension provision in China is thus explained by the economic regionalism of geographic conditions and local opportunity.