IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joecag/v25y2023ics2212828x2300018x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the effects of widowhood on health in China: Mechanisms and heterogeneity

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Qin
  • Smith, James P.
  • Zhao, Yaohui

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of widowhood on the health of mid-aged and older individuals in China using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data. Our results show that widowhood significantly increases the risk of depression, chronic diseases, and body pain while reducing cognitive function, sleeping time, and daily activity functions. The effects on depression and daily functions are immediate, that on chronic diseases is lagged, and the effects on cognitive function and sleeping hours persist over time. We find that rural widows are particularly vulnerable to negative health outcomes due to their weaker economic positions, for whom widowhood leads to more grandchild care responsibility and corresponding workforce and social withdrawals. Moreover, rural widows’ income loss is not compensated by children, either by co-residence or financial transfers, leading to reduced living standards. Overall, our findings suggest that China needs to strengthen economic security for older people, especially among rural women, in order to avoid significant negative consequences of widowhood.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Qin & Smith, James P. & Zhao, Yaohui, 2023. "Understanding the effects of widowhood on health in China: Mechanisms and heterogeneity," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joecag:v:25:y:2023:i:c:s2212828x2300018x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeoa.2023.100458
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212828X2300018X
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jeoa.2023.100458?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Goda, Gopi Shah & Shoven, John B. & Slavov, Sita Nataraj, 2013. "Does widowhood explain gender differences in out-of-pocket medical spending among the elderly?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 647-658.
    2. Xiaoyan Lei & Yuqing Hu & John J. McArdle & James P. Smith & Yaohui Zhao, 2012. "Gender Differences in Cognition among Older Adults in China," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(4), pages 951-971.
    3. Smith, James P. & Tian, Meng & Zhao, Yaohui, 2013. "Community effects on elderly health: Evidence from CHARLS national baseline," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 1, pages 50-59.
    4. John Murray, 2000. "Marital protection and marital selection: Evidence from a historical-prospective sample of American men," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(4), pages 511-521, November.
    5. Bound, John & Krueger, Alan B, 1991. "The Extent of Measurement Error in Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make a Right?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    6. Rui Zhao & Yaohui Zhao, 2018. "The Gender Pension Gap in China," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 218-239, April.
    7. Collins, Amy Love & Goldman, Noreen, 2008. "Perceived social position and health in older adults in Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 536-544, February.
    8. Lee Lillard & Constantijn Panis, 1996. "Marital status and mortality: The role of health," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 33(3), pages 313-327, August.
    9. Bound, John & Schoenbaum, Michael & Stinebrickner, Todd R. & Waidmann, Timothy, 1999. "The dynamic effects of health on the labor force transitions of older workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 179-202, June.
    10. Lei, Xiaoyan & Sun, Xiaoting & Strauss, John & Zhang, Peng & Zhao, Yaohui, 2014. "Depressive symptoms and SES among the mid-aged and elderly in China: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study national baseline," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 224-232.
    11. Umberson, Debra, 1992. "Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 907-917, April.
    12. Feinian Chen & Guangya Liu, 2012. "The Health Implications of Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren in China," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 67(1), pages 99-112.
    13. Robert B. Wallace & A. Regula Herzog, 1995. "Overview of the Health Measures in the Health and Retirement Study," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30, pages 84-107.
    14. James P. Smith & John J. McArdle & Robert Willis, 2010. "Financial Decision Making and Cognition in a Family Context," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(548), pages 363-380, November.
    15. Gong, Jinquan & Wang, Gewei & Wang, Yafeng & Zhao, Yaohui, 2022. "Consumption and poverty of older Chinese: 2011–2020," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    16. Espinosa, Javier & Evans, William N., 2008. "Heightened mortality after the death of a spouse: Marriage protection or marriage selection?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1326-1342, September.
    17. Costa, Dora L., 1999. "A house of her own: old age assistance and the living arrangements of older nonmarried women," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 39-59, April.
    18. Li, Lydia & Liang, Jersey & Toler, Amanda & Gu, Shengzu, 2005. "Widowhood and depressive symptoms among older Chinese: Do gender and source of support make a difference?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 637-647, February.
    19. Simeonova, Emilia, 2013. "Marriage, bereavement and mortality: The role of health care utilization," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 33-50.
    20. James P. Smith & John J. McArdle & Robert Willis, 2010. "Financial Decision Making and Cognition in a Family Context," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(548), pages 363-380, November.
    21. Liu, Hui, 2012. "Marital dissolution and self-rated health: Age trajectories and birth cohort variations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(7), pages 1107-1116.
    22. Buhmann, Brigitte, et al, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well-Being, Inequality, and Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates across Ten Countries Using the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(2), pages 115-142, June.
    23. Costa, Dora L, 1997. "Displacing the Family: Union Army Pensions and Elderly Living Arrangements," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1269-1292, December.
    24. Yuanreng Hu & Noreen Goldman, 1990. "Mortality Differentials by Marital Status: An International Comparison," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 27(2), pages 233-250, May.
    25. Mary Elizabeth Hughes & Linda J. Waite & Tracey A. LaPierre & Ye Luo, 2007. "All in the Family: The Impact of Caring for Grandchildren on Grandparents' Health," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(2), pages 108-119.
    26. Axel Börsch-Supan & Morten Schuth, 2014. "Early Retirement, Mental Health, and Social Networks," NBER Chapters, in: Discoveries in the Economics of Aging, pages 225-250, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    27. Hanming Fang & Jin Feng, 2018. "The Chinese Pension System," NBER Working Papers 25088, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Lei, Xiaoyan & Giles, John & Hu, Yuqing & Park, Albert & Strauss, John & Zhao, Yaohui, 2012. "Patterns and correlates of intergenerational non-time transfers : evidence from CHARLS," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6076, The World Bank.
    29. John Giles & Ren Mu, 2007. "Elderly parent health and the migration decisions of adult children: Evidence from rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(2), pages 265-288, May.
    30. Xiaoyan Lei & John Strauss & Meng Tian & Yaohui Zhao, 2015. "Living arrangements of the elderly in China: evidence from the CHARLS national baseline," China Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 191-214, September.
    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. Michael Rendall & Margaret Weden & Melissa Favreault & Hilary Waldron, 2011. "The Protective Effect of Marriage for Survival: A Review and Update," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(2), pages 481-506, May.
    2. Requena, Miguel & Reher, David, 2021. "Partnership and mortality in mid and late life: Protection or selection?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    3. Ribar, David C., 2004. "What Do Social Scientists Know About the Benefits of Marriage? A Review of Quantitative Methodologies," IZA Discussion Papers 998, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Peng Nie & Yan Li & Lanlin Ding & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2021. "Housing Poverty and Healthy Aging in China: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-20, September.
    5. Ayllón, Sara & Ferreira-Batista, Natalia N., 2015. "‘Mommy, I miss daddy’. The effect of family structure on children's health in Brazil," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 75-89.
    6. Kenneth Couch & Christopher Tamborini & Gayle Reznik, 2015. "The Long-Term Health Implications of Marital Disruption: Divorce, Work Limits, and Social Security Disability Benefits Among Men," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(5), pages 1487-1512, October.
    7. Feng, Lyubing & He, Yuxi & Zhan, Peng, 2023. "Economic independence and living arrangements of older women with agricultural Hukou in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Espinosa, Javier & Evans, William N., 2008. "Heightened mortality after the death of a spouse: Marriage protection or marriage selection?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1326-1342, September.
    9. Sebastian Franke & Hill Kulu, 2018. "Mortality Differences by Partnership Status in England and Wales: The Effect of Living Arrangements or Health Selection?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(1), pages 87-118, February.
    10. Mitra, Sophie & Gao, Qin & Chen, Wei & Zhang, Yalu, 2020. "Health, work, and income among middle-aged and older adults: A panel analysis for China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    11. Teresa Bago d'Uva & Esen Erdogan Ciftci & Owen O'Donnell & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2015. "Who can predict their Own Demise? Accuracy of Longevity Expectations by Education and Cognition," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-052/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    12. Rong Fu & Haruko Noguchi, 2018. "Does the positive relationship between health and marriage reflect protection or selection? Evidence from middle-aged and elderly Japanese," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1003-1016, December.
    13. Osea Giuntella & Wei Han & Fabrizio Mazzonna, 2017. "Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, and Cognitive Skills: Evidence From an Unsleeping Giant," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1715-1742, October.
    14. Woojin Chung & Roeul Kim, 2014. "Does Marriage Really Matter to Health? Intra- and Inter-Country Evidence from China, Japan, Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-10, August.
    15. Lingguo Cheng & Hong Liu & Ye Zhang & Zhong Zhao, 2018. "The heterogeneous impact of pension income on elderly living arrangements: evidence from China’s new rural pension scheme," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(1), pages 155-192, January.
    16. Wilson, Chris M. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2005. "How Does Marriage Affect Physical and Psychological Health? A Survey of the Longitudinal Evidence," Economic Research Papers 269622, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    17. van den Berg, Gerard J. & Gupta, Sumedha, 2015. "The role of marriage in the causal pathway from economic conditions early in life to mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 141-158.
    18. Gardner, Jonathan & Oswald, Andrew, 2004. "How is mortality affected by money, marriage, and stress?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1181-1207, November.
    19. Camila Maciel de Oliveira & Luciane Viater Tureck & Danilo Alvares & Chunyu Liu & Andrea Roseli Vançan Russo Horimoto & Mercedes Balcells & Rafael de Oliveira Alvim & José Eduardo Krieger & Alexandre , 2020. "Relationship between marital status and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Brazilian rural population: The Baependi Heart Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-10, August.
    20. Michael Geruso, 2012. "Black-White Disparities in Life Expectancy: How Much Can the Standard SES Variables Explain?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(2), pages 553-574, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Widowhood; Short-term Effects; Health Outcomes; CHARLS; Time Allocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

    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:eee:joecag:v:25:y:2023:i:c:s2212828x2300018x. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-journal-of-the-economics-of-ageing .

    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.