Pension benefits and social cohesion

Abstract

How does the expansion of social protection programs to the poor in developing democracies affect social cohesion? I address this question by examining Bolivia's central government run, non-contributory pension program, Renta Dignidad. Using a regression discontinuity design as well as a novel difference-in-discontinuities design, I find that recipients of pension benefits are overall more likely to display increased support for the central government and that in provinces where both territorial tensions and class tensions are most acute, support for the central government is significantly greater. This is consistent with a theoretical argument that expansion of social protection to the poor can mitigate opposition on active dimensions of social conflict that intersect the socio-economic dimension.