Image: Logo of the International Pension Research Association
Hanming Fang, CEPAR Partner Investigator and Professor of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed mental health, elderly suicide and retirement in China at a recent webinar which was co-hosted by the International Pension Research Association (IPRA) and CEPAR in February 2021.
China started its family planning policy known as 'Later, Longer and Fewer' (LLF) in the early 1970s. According to Professor Fang the total fertility rate declined drastically from 5.7 in 1969 to 2.7 in 1978, and the parents impacted by the LLF policy are now entering their retirement age.
Professor Hanming Fang discussed the impact of having fewer children on the parents' physical and mental health when they enter retirement. He also provided evidence on the role of family companionship on the elderly mental health by examining the protective effects of the Lunar New Year holiday on the elderly suicides. The recording of the talk is available online:
Click play to view the recording of the webinar
Hanming Fang is Joseph M. Cohen Term Professor of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an applied microeconomist with broad theoretical and empirical interests focusing on public economics. His research covers topics ranging from discrimination, social economics, psychology and economics, and welfare reform to public good provision mechanisms, auctions, health insurance markets, and population ageing.
The recent webinar was presented by CEPAR and the International Pension Research Association (IPRA). IPRA is a new international organisation established with the aim of improving the quality and impact of research on pensions and related ageing issues to optimise social and economic outcomes for an ageing world.
Its inaugural executive committee comprises representatives of the four founding organisations CEPAR, the Pension Research Council at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Netspar at Tilburg University, and the OECD.
Individual researchers and organisations including policy groups from across the world, interested in pensions and related ageing issues, are welcome to join the association.