IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp6528.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Urban-Rural Disparities of Child Health and Nutritional Status in China from 1989 to 2006

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Hong

    (Central University of Finance and Economics)

  • Fang, Hai

    (University of Colorado Denver)

  • Zhao, Zhong

    (Renmin University of China)

Abstract

This paper analyzes urban–rural disparities of China's child health and nutritional status using the China Health and Nutrition Survey data from 1989 to 2006. We investigate degrees of health and nutritional disparities between urban and rural children in China as well as how such disparities have changed during the period 1989–2006. The results show that on average urban children have 0.29 higher height-for-age z-scores and 0.19 greater weight-for-age z-scores than rural children. Urban children are approximately 40% less likely to be stunted (OR = 0.62; P

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Hong & Fang, Hai & Zhao, Zhong, 2012. "Urban-Rural Disparities of Child Health and Nutritional Status in China from 1989 to 2006," IZA Discussion Papers 6528, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6528
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp6528.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harold Alderman & John Hoddinott & Bill Kinsey, 2006. "Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 450-474, July.
    2. F. L. Jones, 1983. "On Decomposing the Wage Gap: A Critical Comment on Blinder's Method," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 18(1), pages 126-130.
    3. repec:pri:cheawb:case_paxson_economic_status_paper is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Janet Currie & Mark Stabile, 2003. "Socioeconomic Status and Child Health: Why Is the Relationship Stronger for Older Children?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(5), pages 1813-1823, December.
    5. Chen, Yuyu & Li, Hongbin, 2009. "Mother's education and child health: Is there a nurturing effect?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 413-426, March.
    6. Alderman, Harold & Garcia, Marito, 1994. "Food Security and Health Security: Explaining the Levels of Nutritional Status in Pakistan," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(3), pages 485-507, April.
    7. Liu, Yuanli & Hsiao, William C. & Eggleston, Karen, 1999. "Equity in health and health care: the Chinese experience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 49(10), pages 1349-1356, November.
    8. Van de Poel, Ellen & O'Donnell, Owen & Van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2009. "Urbanization and the spread of diseases of affluence in China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 200-216, July.
    9. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    10. Qinghua Zhang & Heng-fu Zou, 2012. "Regional Inequality in Contemporary China," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 13(1), pages 113-137, May.
    11. Yang, Juhua, 2007. "China's one-child policy and overweight children in the 1990s," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 2043-2057, May.
    12. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    13. Wagstaff, Adam & Yu, Shengchao, 2007. "Do health sector reforms have their intended impacts?: The World Bank's Health VIII project in Gansu province, China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 505-535, May.
    14. Jamison, Dean T., 1986. "Child malnutrition and school performance in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 299-309, March.
    15. Reimers, Cordelia W, 1983. "Labor Market Discrimination against Hispanic and Black Men," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 570-579, November.
    16. Murasko, Jason E., 2013. "Associations between household income, height, and BMI in contemporary US schoolchildren," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 185-196.
    17. David Neumark, 1988. "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 23(3), pages 279-295.
    18. Wagstaff, Adam & Lindelow, Magnus & Jun, Gao & Ling, Xu & Juncheng, Qian, 2009. "Extending health insurance to the rural population: An impact evaluation of China's new cooperative medical scheme," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-19, January.
    19. Liu, Yuanli & Hsiao, William C. L. & Li, Qing & Liu, Xingzhu & Ren, Minghui, 1995. "Transformation of China's rural health care financing," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1085-1093, October.
    20. Guo, Xuguang & Mroz, Thomas A & Popkin, Barry M & Zhai, Fengying, 2000. "Structural Change in the Impact of Income on Food Consumption in China, 1989-1993," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(4), pages 737-760, July.
    21. Myeong-Su Yun, 2005. "A Simple Solution to the Identification Problem in Detailed Wage Decompositions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 43(4), pages 766-772, October.
    22. repec:pri:cheawb:case_paxson_economic_status_paper.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Fang, Hai & Ali, Mir M. & Rizzo, John A., 2009. "Does smoking affect body weight and obesity in China?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 334-350, December.
    24. Xiaoyan Lei & Wanchuan Lin, 2009. "The New Cooperative Medical Scheme in rural China: does more coverage mean more service and better health?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S2), pages 25-46, July.
    25. Guilkey, David K. & Popkin, Barry M. & Akin, John S. & Wong, Emelita L., 1989. "Prenatal care and pregnancy outcome in Cebu, Philippines," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 241-272, April.
    26. Ronald L. Oaxaca & Michael R. Ransom, 1999. "Identification in Detailed Wage Decompositions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(1), pages 154-157, February.
    27. Van de Poel, Ellen & O'Donnell, Owen & Van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2007. "Are urban children really healthier? Evidence from 47 developing countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 1986-2003, November.
    28. Behrman, Jere R. & Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2004. "Correlates and determinants of child anthropometrics in Latin America: background and overview of the symposium," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 335-351, December.
    29. Bredenkamp, Caryn, 2009. "Policy-related determinants of child nutritional status in China: The effect of only-child status and access to healthcare," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 1531-1538, November.
    30. Dong, Keyong, 2009. "Medical insurance system evolution in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 591-597, December.
    31. Anne Case & Darren Lubotsky & Christina Paxson, 2002. "Economic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1308-1334, December.
    32. Ellen van de Poel & Owen O'Donnell & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2007. "Are Urban Children really healthier?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-035/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    33. Jones-Smith, Jessica C. & Popkin, Barry M., 2010. "Understanding community context and adult health changes in China: Development of an urbanicity scale," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(8), pages 1436-1446, October.
    34. Liu, Yuanli, 2002. "Reforming China's urban health insurance system," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 133-150, May.
    35. Smith, Lisa C. & Ruel, Marie T. & Ndiaye, Aida, 2005. "Why Is Child Malnutrition Lower in Urban Than in Rural Areas? Evidence from 36 Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1285-1305, August.
    36. Carrin, Guy & Ron, Aviva & Hui, Yang & Hong, Wang & Tuohong, Zhang & Licheng, Zhang & Shuo, Zhang & Yide, Ye & Jiaying, Chen & Qicheng, Jiang & Zhaoyang, Zhang & Jun, Yu & Xuesheng, Li, 1999. "The reform of the rural cooperative medical system in the People's Republic of China: interim experience in 14 pilot counties," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 961-972, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aizawa, Toshiaki, 2019. "Ex-ante Inequality of Opportunity in Child Malnutrition: New Evidence from Ten Developing Countries in Asia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 144-161.
    2. Sonja C. Kassenboehmer & Mathias G. Sinning, 2014. "Distributional Changes in the Gender Wage Gap," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(2), pages 335-361, April.
    3. Ronald Bachmann & Mathias Sinning, 2016. "Decomposing the Ins and Outs of Cyclical Unemployment," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(6), pages 853-876, December.
    4. Fortin, Nicole & Lemieux, Thomas & Firpo, Sergio, 2011. "Decomposition Methods in Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 1, pages 1-102, Elsevier.
    5. ChangHwan Kim, 2010. "Decomposing the Change in the Wage Gap Between White and Black Men Over Time, 1980-2005: An Extension of the Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition Method," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 38(4), pages 619-651, May.
    6. Stewart Williams, Jennifer Anne, 2009. "Using non-linear decomposition to explain the discriminatory effects of male-female differentials in access to care: A cardiac rehabilitation case study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1072-1079, October.
    7. Michael Weber & Jan Kluge, 2015. "Decomposing the German East-West wage gap," ERSA conference papers ersa15p636, European Regional Science Association.
    8. Amairisa Koukia & Robert M. Sauer, 2022. "Remote Work, Children’s Health and the Racial Gap in Female Wages," CHILD Working Papers Series 104 JEL Classification: C, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    9. Kouki, Amairisa & Sauer, Robert M., 2022. "Remote Work, Children's Health and the Racial Gap in Female Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 15072, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Myeong-Su Yun & Eric S. Lin, 2015. "Alternative Estimator for Industrial Gender Wage Gaps: A Normalized Regression Approach," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 569-587, October.
    11. repec:zbw:rwirep:0305 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Sonja C. Kassenböhmer & Mathias Sinning, 2010. "Distributional Changes in the Gender Wage Gap," Ruhr Economic Papers 0220, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    13. Niels-Hugo Blunch & Nabanita Datta Gupta, 2014. "Social Networks and Health Knowledge in India: Who You Know or Who You Are?," Economics Working Papers 2014-24, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    14. Ronald Bachmann & Mathias Sinning, 2011. "Decomposing the Ins and Outs of Cyclical Unemployment," Ruhr Economic Papers 0305, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    15. repec:zbw:rwirep:0517 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Jacob, Brian A., 2002. "Where the boys aren't: non-cognitive skills, returns to school and the gender gap in higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 589-598, December.
    17. Adam Pilny, 2017. "Explaining Differentials in Subsidy Levels Among Hospital Ownership Types in Germany," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 566-581, May.
    18. C Dougherty, 2003. "Why is the Rate of Return to Schooling Higher For Women Than For Men?," CEP Discussion Papers dp0581, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    19. Adam Pilny, 2014. "Explaining Differentials in Subsidy Levels among Hospital Ownership Types in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 0517, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    20. Brian A. Jacob, 2002. "Where the boys aren't: Non-cognitive skills, returns to school and the gender gap in higher education," NBER Working Papers 8964, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. repec:zbw:rwirep:0220 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Niels-Hugo Blunch, 2015. "Bound to lose, bound to win? The financial crisis and the informal-formal sector earnings gap in Serbia," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-34, December.
    23. Blunch, Niels-Hugo & Datta Gupta, Nabanita, 2020. "Mothers’ health knowledge gap for children with diarrhea: A decomposition analysis across caste and religion in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    health and nutritional status; urban-rural disparities; child; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6528. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.