| China's economy has achieved rapid development since the reform and opening up, but Chinese Gini coefficient is also on the rise and the income distribution gap has been expanded to the extremely severe degree which needs to be settled. The report of the18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has clearly pointed out that social security is the basic system that guarantees people's living standards and regulates the social allocation. As the core of the social security system, the pension insurance is the important tool for regulating income distribution. With the improvement of the pension insurance system, the expansion of the coverage and the increasing of the fund, pension insurance has been of growing importance to regulate income distribution. Therefore, under the background of the excessively high income distribution gap, and around the theme of the era of reform, development and harmony, the study systematically analyzed the function mechanism, the transmission mechanism and the regulating effect of the pension insurance policies to the income distribution, and put forward some suggestions that the pension insurance policies optimize the regulation mechanism of income distribution.The study has eight parts. The main contents and views of each chapter are as follows:The introduction part describes the background and significance of this study, summarizes the ideas, contents, methods on the basis of sorting out the relevant literatures, and put forward the major innovations and flaw.Chapter1:The theoretical analysis of pension insurance regulating income distribution. First, the chapter analyzed general function of pension insurance, that is,"regulator","stabilizer" and "booster". Actually, pension insurance is able to exert its general functions in different development periods of society, with different function emphasizes. In the period of low income country, social insurance in most cases serves as remedy system for national economy and people's livelihood as well as maintenance of social stability. Although it to some extent regulates income distribution, but it makes rather limited regulating effect. During the period of middle income country, especially the period of medium and high income country, social insurance is no longer a poverty reducing tool; rather, it serves as fundamental systematic arrangement which regulates distribution patter of national income, ensures and improve people's livelihood; during the period of high income country, in most cases, social insurance is kind of welfare system which makes social wealth benefit the whole people and realizes common prosperity. China is actually entering into the period of medium and high income country. Currently, Chinese pension insurance system shall not only directs at eliminating worries of all of senior citizens, but also shall effectively regulate income distribution and minimize income distribution gap. Meanwhile, regulation on income distribution by means of pension insurance is supported by theories of redistribution of social insurances like Marxism, welfare economics, the Swedish school, Keynesianism and the Third Way as well as theories of social insurance's regulation on primary distribution like Roemer's Distributive Justice and Inclusive Growth and so on.Chapter2:The functioning and transmission mechanism of pension insurance on regulating income distribution. Pension insurance with different systems and modes will show different connotations and functioning mechanism when it regulate income distributions. In the domain of primary distribution, funding mechanism of pension insurance directly causes changes to income proportions of the government, enterprises and individuals so as to realize direct regulation on pattern of primary income distribution; by affecting issues like employment, salary (increase) and rent-seeking corruption, pension insurance system realizes indirect regulation on primary income distribution gap and its orders, In the domain of redistribution, by means of fund procurement, treatment payment mechanism and mechanism of transfer payment from the exchequer, pension insurance helps relieve poverty and regulate income gaps between different social layers, realizing income redistribution. Transmission mechanism of pension insurance in regulating income distribution is comprised by transmission channel and transmission process. Major correlated variables involved in the transmission process contain political tools and intermediary agent for pension insurance in regulating income distribution. Political tool of pension insurance in regulating income distribution affects the payment and treatment payment level of pension insurance, which affects primary distribution and redistribution by means of intermediary agent. Payment channel and release channel are two channels in which pension insurance regulates income distribution. Payment of pension insurance regulates enterprises' profit and changes distribution pattern between government taxation and employees'salaries. The higher the payment is, the stronger the regulation is; on the contrary, the lower the payment is, the weaker the regulation is. However, it is possible for enterprises to transfer payment responsibility of pension insurance to employees, which suppresses employee's wage level and reduces employment demand. This would further affect total wages of staff and workers, erode remuneration for workers and lead to impossibly effective balance of primary distribution pattern. Moreover, corruptions in pension insurance fund affect the orders of primary distribution. Due to different funding mechanism, accumulation degree of pension insurance fund also varies, which incurs different degrees of corruption risks. Certainly, corruption degree are closely related with legal system, management system and supervision mechanism of pension insurance. What's more, different combinations of payment and release channels of pension insurance realize income redistributions in different degrees and forms. However, the degree of income redistribution is realized by the way of substitution rate.Chapter3:The chapter has compared regulation effects of pension insurance in mature market economies and countries and come up with corresponding inspirations. The chapter has selected three typical pension insurance systems in the world and carried out comparative analysis on them, respectively, self-insured and state-funded type in America, state welfare in Sweden and compulsive storage in Singapore. By making comparative analysis on different aspects of these three pension insurances, respectively, system mode, funding mechanism, qualification of pension's beneficiary, treatment payment mechanism and transfer payment, payment level of pension insurance, the chapter has made six conclusions:first, pension insurance system is an effective method in regulating income distribution; second, coverage and payment level of pension insurance is the basis of pension insurance in effectively regulating income distribution. Third, retirement age is an important factor which affects results of regulation on income distribution. Fourth, transfer payment from the exchequer is a solid backup force of pension insurance in regulating income distribution. Fifth, integrated legal system of pension insurance is strong guarantee for pension insurance in exerting its regulating functions; Sixth, pension insurance'regulation on income distribution is affected by multiple factors like economic level, social policy, political environment, traditional culture and social values.Chapter4:The empirical study on the regulation effect of pension insurance on income distribution in China. First, This chapter puts the pension insurance level into the Kuznets measurement model to analyze empirically the interactive relationship of pension insurance, income distribution and economic growth, through making use of1978-2011annual time series data in China based on VAR model. The outcome showed that China has entered the inflection point stage of the "inverted U" curve, and during the period of2007-2010, there was transitions occurred to changes of general income gaps of Chinese citizens. The current pension insurance system does not play a regulatory role in the income distribution field, and even exists a certain degree of reverse adjustment effect, named "lose insufficient and fill superabundant ". Second, the chapter has made empirical research on bearing capacity of enterprises of different ownerships in undertaking payment of pension insurance in Eastern, Middle and Western China based on C-D production function model improved by Jan Tinbergen. Based on the research, the chapter finds that, legal payment rate of20%made by enterprises is relatively high for collectively-owned enterprises and private enterprises in different regions. Even in Middle China, where there are strongest payment abilities, their maximum payment abilities are no more than13/35%and17.15%. State-owned enterprises in east and middle area can afford the statutory contribution burden. But overall, China's state-owned enterprises are still unable to afford the contribution pressures. By contrast, China's foreign-funded enterprises are barely able to afford the contribution burden. Third, the chapter has carried out empirical analysis on effect of payment of pension insurance made by enterprises of different ownerships in regulating primary distribution Based on the provincial panel data from2006to2011and found that, the pension contribution burden of various ownership enterprises has been passed on to workers in different ways or by different degrees. Payment burden of pension insurance supposed to be undertaken by state-owned enterprises are obviously transferred to employee's wages. Payment of pension insurance made by collectively owned enterprise exerts obvious crowding-out effect on salary increase. However, it has obvious creative effect on employment. This kind of creative effect basically come from Eastern China. The specific phenomenon can be explained by the possible fact that, workers many turn to those informal sections; payment of pension insurance made by private enterprises has squeezed out employment demand and salary increase; Payment of pension insurance made by foreign enterprise exerts obvious crowding-out effect on employment. Fifth, by comparing effects on income distributions among different social groups, the chapter has found that, because pension insurance system in China is quite fragmented and has obvious "identity" feature, either in terms of coverage and pension level, or substitution rate of pension insurance, there is a common fact that, level of pension insurance in public and government institutions is higher than level of basic pension insurance in enterprises while the latter one is higher than new rural insurance. Therefore, income distribution gaps among different social groups have been expanded. In2011, as for pensions of workers in public and government institutions, pensions of enterprise workers and pensions of farmers, their ratios are39.6:27.5:1. The corresponding pension replacement rates are61.14%,42.63%and28.46%-32.42%.Chapter5:The problems and its institutional roots existed in China's pension insurance policy in regulating income distribution. The current pension insurance fails to realize ideal regulations on income distributions. There is much "regression effect". The internal cause is that, under the governing idea and guidelines of "take economic construction as the central task", the government puts more emphasis on development of economic efficiency tries to realize "rich former leads latter, eventually together". Social securities like pension insurance are only taken as subsidiary and supporting measures. Therefore, in the case of "rich former leads latter, eventually together", when pension insurance system is introduced, there would be different agendas for different people. Meanwhile, insurance levels also vary. It is true that, governance ideas of "take economic construction as the central task" and value idea of "oriented at efficiency" have their historical significance. However, it will inevitably lead to social inequality if disparity among different social groups is ignored. Direct reasons contain defect in the institutional mode, small coverage, unreasonable funding mechanism, unscientific release mechanism, low level of social security expenditure, unbalance expenditure structure, lacking uniform administrative system, low planning level and imperfect legal system. Moreover, low social security expenditure level cause moral declines in terns of income distribution orders. The potential cause is that, the system is constrained by informal systems like cultures and traditions; meanwhile, it is dependent on channels of pension insurance. Traditional culture of family's provision for the aged is declining. Its contradictions with social pension insurance system are becoming more and more obvious, which cast negative influence on equality of pension insurance system.Chapter6:The political ideas and countermeasures to optimize China's pension insurance system. China is currently during the period of Demographic Dividend. However, China will enter into "deeply aging society" during the period of2025?2030. Therefore, it is necessary to take the opportunity and establish social security systems like pension insurance, so as to narrow income distribution gap. Macroscopic ideas for reform and optimization of China's pension insurance system:"equality, justice and sharing", key value concept. It is necessary to keep a foothold on integrate ideas and overall development concept, to stick to integrative policy orientations, to strengthen the comprehensive design of pension insurance policy as a tool, to facilitate integration and creation of current pension insurance, to effectively regulate income distribution gasp and to realize "increase equality, adapt to mobility and maintain sustainability" proposed by18th CPC National Congress. Detailed political suggestions contain:first, it is necessary to expand coverage, to plan urban and rural pension insurance, to realize integration of pension insurance system and to create equality at the starting point; second, it is necessary to improve planning level, to effectively implement national planning of basic pensions and balance regional payment burden and to narrow regional disparity; third, it is necessary to improve funding system, to reduce contribution rate and reinforce and optimize payment base, to extend payment years (including basic payment years and retirement age), to reduce and balance payment burdens undertaken by different enterprises in different regions, to improve employee's salary increase and employment level and to balance primary distribution pattern; fourth, it is necessary to optimize the treatment payment mechanism, to adjust pattern of financial revenues and expenditures, to reinforce financial investment, to implement system of national annuity and to establish and improve mechanism of pension increasing with economic growth and price level, and to narrow and control pension gasps; fifth, it is necessary to strive to develop the occupational pension system by means of policy support and tax preference, to improve multi-layers of pension insurance system, to increase substitution rate of employee's pension in enterprises, to narrow pension gaps between enterprise of different ownerships, and gaps between enterprise employees and employees in public and government institutions, to strengthen employee's "sense of belonging" in enterprises; sixth, it is necessary to improve social insurance system, to strengthen supervision and checking, to make sure that pension insurance system runs legally, correctly, effectively and to standardize pattern of income distribution.Chapter7, this part is conclusion. By summarizing basic conclusions of the research, the chapter has predicted problems to be researched in the domain in future, including first, research on income distribution effect of urban and rural social pension insurance including new rural insurance; second, analysis on subjective and psychological evaluation of influence of pension insurance on income distribution; third, analysis on relation between social pension insurance and family supporting.Major innovations of the research:first, the chapter has explore functioning mechanism and transmission mechanism of pension insurance' regulation on income distribution from two perspectives of primary distribution and redistribution, including regulating policy transmission tool, transmission channel, transmission process, transmission channel and transmission effect and so on, which is quite innovative in the domain of social security theories; second, based on theoretical analysis on transmission mechanism, from perspectives of enterprises of different ownerships, the chapter has carried out empirical research on practical effect of policy transmission tools of China's pension insurance on income distribution regulation, which realizes innovations in the research angles; third, the chapter has explore institutional source of problems existed in pension insurance's regulation on income distribution from the perspective of social systems (including internal institutional reason, direct institutional reason and potential institutional reason). Meanwhile, the chapter has pointed out approaches of institutional adjustment and policy optimization on income distribution improvement, providing refers to reform of pension insurance system. |
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