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Can a "force saving" policy enhance the future happiness of the society? a survey study of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) policy in Hong Kong
Author(s)
Date Issued
2007
Citation
Yuen, W. K. (2007 Jul 18). Can a "force saving" policy enhance the future happiness of the society? a survey study of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) policy in Hong Kong. International Conference on “Happiness and Public Policy, Bangkok, Thailand.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Population getting aging is a problem or going to be a problem for many Asian
countries. Hong Kong is expecting a rapid population aging, by 2033, it is predicted
by the government that 27 percent of population will be over the usual retirement age
65. The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) policy was implemented in year 2000 as a
retirement protection system. The core of the MPF policy is a “force saving” policy
aims at enhancing future well-being or happiness. Indeed the similar “force saving”
policy can be implemented for different purpose of enhancing happiness, for example
reducing future poverty, financing future education or financing future health-care
system. This paper employs an ordered probit model to review MPF policy from the
point of view of self-reported happiness expectation after retirement. The data were
collected by means of a survey conducted by “Economics and Well-being Research”
in February 2007 using randomly selected telephone numbers from residential
telephone directories. A total of 543 respondents were successfully interviewed. This
paper intends to answer the following questions: 1) Can MPF make the people in
Hong Kong having a happier retirement expectation? 2) What are some of the
determinants of happiness expectation after retirement? 3) What can other countries
learn from the experience of implementing the MPF in Hong Kong?
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