Old Farmer Pension Program and Farm Succession: Evidence from a Population-Based Survey of Farm Households in Taiwan

This article examines the effect of the old farmers' pension program on farm succession in Taiwan. Using an agricultural census survey of 160,380 crop farms in 2005 and an analytical framework of regression discontinuity design, we find evidence that the pension program induced elderly farmers to work more on the farm and less off the farm. Although the primary policy objective of the pension program is to secure the well-being of elderly farmers, an undesired negative effect on farm succession is found.