IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v338y2023ics0277953623006718.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fertility behaviors and mid-late-life health status in China: From a life-course perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Weng, Yulei
  • Yang, Xiaocong

Abstract

Despite extensive research on the impact of fertility behaviors on mid-late-life health, conclusions remain inconsistent, and understanding is limited regarding the role of fertility-correlated life events in this causality. This study uses the 2018 wave and life-history information of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) dataset to explore how the number of children born (NCB) and age at first birth (AFB) influence later-life health. It also examines the effects of early-life educational attainment and mid-late-life caregiving on later-life health from a life-course perspective. Health measures include the Health Deficit Index (HDI), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results from the instrumental variables (IV) approach indicate that higher NCB predicts worse health, while later AFB predicts better later-life health. These findings remain robust with different measures of fertility behaviors, and in models that control for cohort and community fixed-effects. However, introducing education variables could disrupt the causality between fertility behaviors and later-life health, but not with caregiving variables. This suggests a potential “horse race” effect between education and fertility behaviors, both of which significantly influence later-life health. Therefore, understanding this causality and formulating policy for an aging society from a life-course perspective is essential.

Suggested Citation

  • Weng, Yulei & Yang, Xiaocong, 2023. "Fertility behaviors and mid-late-life health status in China: From a life-course perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:338:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623006718
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116314
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953623006718
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116314?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liqiu Zhao & Minghai Zhou, 2018. "Do only children have poor vision? Evidence from China's One‐Child Policy," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1131-1146, July.
    2. Sanna L Read & Emily M D Grundy, 2017. "Fertility History and Cognition in Later Life," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(6), pages 1021-1031.
    3. Juan Du & Takeshi Yagihashi, 2017. "Health capital investment and time spent on health-related activities," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1215-1248, December.
    4. Qianping Ren & Maoliang Ye, 2017. "Losing children and mental well-being: evidence from China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(12), pages 868-877, July.
    5. Kaiyun Xue & Yafeng Nie & Yue Wang & Zhen Hu, 2022. "Number of Births and Later-Life Depression in Older Adults: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-13, September.
    6. Emily Grundy & Sanna Read, 2015. "Pathways from fertility history to later life health: Results from analyses of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(4), pages 107-146.
    7. Guangya Liu & Matthew E. Dupre, 2016. "Health Trajectories of Women in China: The Role of Parental Caregiving," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 71(2), pages 320-331.
    8. Asadul Islam & Russell Smyth, 2015. "Do Fertility Control Policies Affect Health in Old Age? Evidence from China's One‐Child Experiment," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 601-616, May.
    9. Chen, Jiwei & Guo, Jiangying, 2022. "The effect of female education on fertility: Evidence from China’s compulsory schooling reform," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Naci Mocan & Han Yu, 2020. "Can Superstition Create a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? School Outcomes of Dragon Children in China," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(4), pages 485-534.
    11. Mocan, Naci & Yu, Han, 2020. "Can Superstition Create a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? School Outcomes of Dragon Children of China," IZA Discussion Papers 13769, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Zhenmei Zhang, 2006. "Gender Differentials in Cognitive Impairment and Decline of the Oldest Old in China," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(2), pages 107-115.
    13. Xu, Hongwei, 2019. "Physical and mental health of Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren and great-grandparents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 106-116.
    14. Katherine Keenan & Emily Grundy, 2019. "Fertility History and Physical and Mental Health Changes in European Older Adults," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 459-485, July.
    15. Liliya Leopold, 2019. "Health Measurement and Health Inequality Over the Life Course: A Comparison of Self-rated Health, SF-12, and Grip Strength," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 763-784, April.
    16. Emily M. D. Grundy & Sanna Read & Heini Väisänen, 2020. "Fertility trajectories and later-life depression among parents in England," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(2), pages 219-240, June.
    17. Heidi Hanson & Ken Smith & Zachary Zimmer, 2015. "Reproductive History and Later-Life Comorbidity Trajectories: A Medicare-Linked Cohort Study From the Utah Population Database," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(6), pages 2021-2049, December.
    18. Abeliansky, Ana Lucia & Strulik, Holger, 2019. "Long-run improvements in human health: Steady but unequal," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    19. Li, Lydia W. & Zhang, Jiaan & Liang, Jersey, 2009. "Health among the oldest-old in China: Which living arrangements make a difference?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 220-227, January.
    20. Joseph L Saenz & Carlos Díaz-Venegas & Eileen M Crimmins & Deborah Carr, 2021. "Fertility History and Cognitive Function in Late Life: The Case of Mexico," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(4), pages 140-152.
    21. John W. Rowe & Robert L. Kahn, 2015. "Successful Aging 2.0: Conceptual Expansions for the 21st Century," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(4), pages 593-596.
    22. Maria Sironi, 2019. "Fertility histories and chronic conditions later in life in Europe," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 259-272, September.
    23. Huang, Cheng & Zhang, Shiying & Zhao, Qingguo & Lin, Yan, 2021. "Dragon year superstition, birth timing, and neonatal health outcomes," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    24. Aitken, Zoe & Hewitt, Belinda & Keogh, Louise & LaMontagne, Anthony D. & Bentley, Rebecca & Kavanagh, Anne M., 2016. "Young maternal age at first birth and mental health later in life: Does the association vary by birth cohort?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 9-17.
    25. Liang, Yun & Gibson, John, 2018. "Do siblings take your food away? Using China's one-child policy to test for child quantity-quality trade-offs," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 14-26.
    26. Wang, Xuebo & Zhang, Junsen, 2018. "Beyond the Quantity–Quality tradeoff: Population control policy and human capital investment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 222-234.
    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. Zhang, Yan & Fletcher, Jason & Lu, Qiongshi & Song, Jie, 2023. "Gender differences in the association between parity and cognitive function: Evidence from the UK biobank," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    2. Liu, Yang & Yang, Yaowu, 2022. "New “useless education theory”: Highly educated parents' expectations for their children's education—Evidence from the one-child policy," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Yun Liang & John Gibson, 2017. "Do More Grandchildren Lead to Worse Health Status of Grandparents? Evidence from the China Health and Nutrition Survey," Working Papers in Economics 17/18, University of Waikato.
    4. Maria Sironi & George B. Ploubidis & Emily M. Grundy, 2020. "Fertility History and Biomarkers Using Prospective Data: Evidence From the 1958 National Child Development Study," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 529-558, April.
    5. Jiaan Zhang & Liyun Wu, 2015. "Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Consumption among Chinese Older Adults: Do Living Arrangements Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-26, February.
    6. Maria Sironi, 2019. "Fertility histories and chronic conditions later in life in Europe," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 259-272, September.
    7. Freda Yanrong Wang, 2022. "Causal Inference Between the Health Status and Living Arrangements of Elderly People in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 1155-1178, February.
    8. Bansak, Cynthia & Dziadula, Eva & Wang, Sophie Xuefei, 2024. "How China's "Later, Longer, Fewer" Campaign Extends Life Expectancy: A Study of Intergenerational Support for Elderly Parents," IZA Discussion Papers 16842, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Liang, Yu & Dong, Jing, 2022. "The impact of the send-down experience on the health of elderly Chinese women: Evidence from the China family panel studies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 377-389.
    10. Katherine Keenan & Emily Grundy, 2019. "Fertility History and Physical and Mental Health Changes in European Older Adults," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 459-485, July.
    11. Ivan R. Molton & Kathryn M. Yorkston, 2017. "Growing Older With a Physical Disability: A Special Application of the Successful Aging Paradigm," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(2), pages 290-299.
    12. Chen, Yi & Zhao, Yi, 2022. "The timing of first marriage and subsequent life outcomes: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 713-731.
    13. Ayoub, Ali & Gjorgiev, Blaže & Sansavini, Giovanni, 2018. "Cooling towers performance in a changing climate: Techno-economic modeling and design optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 1133-1143.
    14. Jong Won Min, 2019. "The Influence of Stigma and Views on Mental Health Treatment Effectiveness on Service Use by Age and Ethnicity: Evidence From the CDC BRFSS 2007, 2009, and 2012," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, September.
    15. Haiyang Lu & Peng Nie & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2021. "The Effect of Parental Educational Expectations on Adolescent Subjective Well-Being and the Moderating Role of Perceived Academic Pressure: Longitudinal Evidence for China," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(1), pages 117-137, February.
    16. Ana Lucia Abeliansky & Holger Strulik, 2023. "Health and aging before and after retirement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 2825-2855, October.
    17. Chen, Nana & Xu, Hangtian, 2021. "Why has the birth rate relatively increased in China's wealthy cities?," MPRA Paper 105960, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Yongli Wang & Yiran Zhao & Jinjin Lu & Yuan Gao, 2024. "Young Children’s Digital Literacy Practices with Caregivers in the Home Environment: Voices of Chinese Parents and Grandparents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-18, April.
    19. Zheng Xie & Adrienne N Poon & Zhijun Wu & Weiyan Jian & Kit Yee Chan, 2015. "Is Occupation a Good Predictor of Self-Rated Health in China?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    20. Xu, Yanfeng & Bright, Charlotte Lyn, 2018. "Children's mental health and its predictors in kinship and non-kinship foster care: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 243-262.

    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:socmed:v:338:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623006718. 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: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    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.