Academic Paper by JICA’s Tanaka Tomoaki Accepted by the Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics

“Barriers to Saving for Retirement: Evidence from a Public Pension Program in Mongolia ,” an academic paper by JICA’s Tanaka Tomoaki et al., was accepted by the “Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics.” This journal was launched in 2023 and is tied closely to the “Journal of Political Economy,” which is one of the oldest and most prestigious academic journals in the field of economics.

Although increasing coverage of public pension programs is an important policy goal for many developing countries, the majority of those who are eligible for voluntary participation, including Mongolian nomadic herders, do not participate in the program. The paper studies constraints to their pension participation using a large-scale randomized control trial (RCT) and administrative records covering approximately 40 percent of Mongolian subdistricts. The analysis reveals a reasonable increase in the pension contribution rate by providing information on a mobile payment option. The paper also finds that information about development assistance experts involved in the pension administration increases the contribution rate. These effects, amounting to around 10 percent of the mean, suggest that individuals’ perceived transaction costs and trust in the program influence their pension demand. Development assistance seems to facilitate citizens’ participation in government programs by changing their perceptions of these services.