{"type":"script","doc_desc":{"producers":[{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","abbr":"DECDI","affiliation":"World Bank - Development Impact Department","role":"Verification and preparation of metadata"}],"prod_date":"2026-03-09","version":"1"},"project_desc":{"keywords":[{"name":"Population Aging"},{"name":"Income Inequality"},{"name":"Poverty"},{"name":"Pensions"},{"name":"Decomposition"},{"name":"Malaysia"}],"reproduction_instructions":"To reproduce the findings in the paper, users need to follow the steps below:\n\n1. **Prepare the data**\n   - Place the following datasets in the appropriate data folder:\n     - `wpp_projections_2024.dta`\n     - `HIS_ID_2004_2022.dta`\n   - The dataset `HIS_ID_2004_2022.dta` is **restricted**. Users must obtain access to this dataset before attempting to run the code. Please refer to the **Data** section of the README for more information on how to request access.\n\n2. **Run the master script**\n   - The replication package contains a master do-file named `wb_rep_aging_master` located in the `code` subfolder.\n   - This is the **only do-file that needs to be executed**.\n   - In the master file, users must first **specify the root directory**. All other required folders will be generated automatically.\n\n3. **User-written Stata programs**\n   - All required user-written Stata programs are included in an `ado` subfolder.\n   - The location of this folder is defined within the master do-file.\n\n**Note:**  Because one of the required datasets (`HIS_ID_2004_2022.dta`) is restricted, users without access will not be able to execute the code. For transparency and verification purposes, the package includes a folder containing the outputs generated by the replicators, as well as a log file with the run of the package. These outputs can be used to verify that the results correspond to those reported in the published paper.","language":[{"name":"English","code":"EN"}],"technology_requirements":"Run time: 9.5 hours","disclaimer":"The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development\/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.","technology_environment":"Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:\n\u2022 OS: Windows 11 Enterprise\n\u2022 Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 5218 CPU @ 2.30GHz (2.30 GHz) (2 processors)\n\u2022 Memory available: 5.63 GB","software":[{"name":"Stata","version":"19.5"}],"production_date":"2026-03-09","topics":[{"name":"Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions","parent_id":"D3","id":"D31","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)"},{"id":" H55","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Social Security and Public Pensions","parent_id":"H5"},{"parent_id":"J1","id":" J11","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts"},{"id":" J26","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Retirement \u2022 Retirement Policies","parent_id":"J2"},{"vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Human Resources \u2022 Human Development \u2022 Income Distribution \u2022 Migration","parent_id":"O1","id":" O15","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel"}],"output":[{"type":"Working Paper","description":"Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP) 11341","title":"Counteracting The Impact Of Societal Aging On Income Inequality: A Case Study Of Malaysia","uri":"http:\/\/documents.worldbank.org\/curated\/en\/099846503202639394"}],"license":[{"name":"Modified BSD3","uri":"https:\/\/opensource.org\/license\/bsd-3-clause\/"}],"title_statement":{"title":"Reproducibility package for Counteracting The Impact Of Societal Aging On Income Inequality: A Case Study Of Malaysia","idno":"RR_MYS_2026_587"},"scripts":[{"title":"Reproducibility package for Counteracting The Impact Of Societal Aging On Income Inequality: A Case Study Of Malaysia","date":"2026-03","notes":"Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.","instructions":"See README in reproducibility package.","file_name":"RR_MYS_2026_587","zip_package":"RR_MYS_2026_587.zip","dependencies":"Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder."}],"abstract":"This paper analyzes the effect of societal aging on income inequality in Malaysia, to date and in coming decades. The study starts from the hypothesis that, all things equal, aging exerts upward pressure on inequality (Deaton and Paxson (1994, 1995)). Drawing on nationally representative household survey data over the past two decades, the study finds evidence in support of this hypothesis in Malaysia. This picture becomes even sharper when projecting inequality levels for the years when Malaysia is forecast to reach aged (2045) and super-aged (2056) status. Estimates show that between 2022 and 2056, overall inequality of individual incomes could rise by as much as 13 percent due to aging. The analysis then demonstrates that expansion of a social pension system would attenuate this projected rise in inequality. The paper also undertakes counterfactual exercises in which the expansion of an old age social pension with various design variants is simulated. The variants considered would expand existing social transfers for older people; given public revenue and spending patterns in Malaysia  some of these design options are potentially manageable from a fiscal perspective. The analysis suggests that, relative to the observed situation in 2022, wider coverage social pensions could have resulted in lower inequality in household per capita income amongst older individuals (by 12 - 26 percent), thereby lowering overall inequality (by 4 - 9 percent). This inequality-reducing effect of social pensions becomes even more marked when projecting estimates of inequality for 2045 and 2056. Findings show, moreover, that expanded pensions would have resulted in a lower headcount poverty rate in 2022 by 1.3 \u2013 4.2 percentage points among the 60+ population, and by 0.5 \u2013 1.9 points among the overall population.","geographic_units":[{"name":"Malaysia","code":"MYS"}],"datasets":[{"note":"The analysis utilizes a processed subset of the World Population Prospects (2024), accessed in October 2024. While the original source provides global data, the dataset used here (wpp_projections_2024.dta) has been specifically filtered for Malaysia and is located within the \/data subfolder.\nThe dataset is restricted to the years 2004, 2022, 2045, and 2056. It includes population distributions across standard age brackets 0\u201314, 15\u201324, 25\u201349, 50\u201360, 60+, 50\u201365, 65+, 50\u201370, and 70+.","uri":"https:\/\/population.un.org\/wpp\/assets\/Excel%20Files\/1_Indicator%20(Standard)\/EXCEL_FILES\/2_Population\/WPP2024_POP_F06_1_POPULATION_PERCENTAGE_SELECT_AGE_GROUPS_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx","license":"CC BY 3.0","citation":"United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2024. \"World Population Prospects 2024\" [dataset]. https:\/\/population.un.org\/wpp\/assets\/Excel%20Files\/1_Indicator%20(Standard)\/EXCEL_FILES\/2_Population\/WPP2024_POP_F06_1_POPULATION_PERCENTAGE_SELECT_AGE_GROUPS_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx. Access date: October 2024.","access_type":"Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package","license_uri":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/igo\/","name":"World Population Prospects 2024"},{"name":"Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2004-2022","note":"Access to this file is restricted and was obtained through a formal agreement between DOSM and the World Bank; redistribution is not permitted. In addition, the code to process this data is also confidential. For more information on this, please get in touch with the author at: a.g.m.j.rongen@vu.nl; mdornan@worldbank.org. \nData were processed from source files provided by DOSM and accessed in three waves: 2004-2016, 2019, and 2022. Processing consisted of: 1) harmonisation of variables through recoding and reconstruction; 2) generation of dummy variables for household and individual characteristics; 3) construction of a spatial price index (see Rongen and Lanjouw (2024) for further details); and 4) generation of aggregated income, social assistance, and pension variables. A complete list of variables and labels included in the dataset is contained in the reproducibility package in the file Data_Dictionary.xslx.\nFile location: HIS_ID_2004_2022.dta in subfolder 'data'.\nAccess date: October 2023.","access_type":"Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution, and it is not included in the reproducibility package. ","citation":"Department of Statistics Malaysia. (n.d). Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2004-2022 [dataset]. Unpublished data. Access date: October 2023.","license":"Custom License"}],"authoring_entity":[{"name":"Gerton Rongen","affiliation":"Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development","email":"a.g.m.j.rongen@vu.nl"},{"name":"Matthew Dornan","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"mdornan@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Philip O'Keefe","affiliation":"University of New South Wales, World Bank","email":"pokeefe@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Peter Lanjouw","affiliation":"Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam","email":"p.f.lanjouw@vu.nl"}],"data_statement":"Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file. ","repository_uri":[{"name":"Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank)","uri":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org"}],"contacts":[{"name":"Gerton Rongen","affiliation":"Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development","email":"a.g.m.j.rongen@vu.nl"},{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"reproducibility@worldbank.org"}]},"tags":[{"tag":"DOI"},{"tag":"Open Code"},{"tag":"Restricted Data"}],"schematype":"script"}