Stepping up during a crisis: The unintended effects of a noncontributory pension program during the Covid-19 pandemic
研究玻利维亚非缴费型养老金计划在新冠疫情期间的意外正面效果，发现该计划使家庭储备一周食物的概率提高25%，饥饿概率降低40%，尤其对失去生计和低收入家庭效果显著。
We use a regression discontinuity design to study the impacts of a noncontributory pension program covering one-third of Bolivian households during the COVID-19 pandemic. Becoming eligible for the program during the crisis increased the probability that households had a week's worth of food stocked by 25% and decreased the probability of going hungry by 40%. Although the program was not designed to provide emergency assistance, it provided unintended positive impacts during the crisis. The program's effects on hunger were particularly large for households that lost their livelihoods during the crisis and for low-income households. The results suggest that, during a systemic crisis, a preexisting near-universal pension program can quickly deliver positive impacts in line with the primary goals of a social safety net composed of an income-targeted cash transfer and an unemployment insurance program.