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Childlessness and health in middle age and older adulthood: Evidence from Singapore

Author

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  • Ho, Christine
  • Kim, Dahye
  • Ray, Rohan
  • Teerawichitchainan, Bussarawan

Abstract

Health and well-being in mature adulthood are important concerns given the prevalence of individuals aging without children. We exploit two new instruments for childlessness—infertility and the number of childless siblings—and condition our analyses on a rich set of covariates including childhood health and financial status, to investigate the causal relationship between childlessness and health in middle age and older adulthood. Using a nationwide dataset of 1500 Singaporeans aged 50 and above, we show that OLS underestimates the negative effects of childlessness on health. We find that childlessness leads to higher likelihood of poorer self-reported health and mental distress. The results are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses, including bounding the effects by relaxing the exclusion restrictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ho, Christine & Kim, Dahye & Ray, Rohan & Teerawichitchainan, Bussarawan, 2026. "Childlessness and health in middle age and older adulthood: Evidence from Singapore," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:184:y:2026:i:c:s0014292126000231
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2026.105279
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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