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Does Marriage Make Us Healthier? Inter-Country Comparative Evidence from China, Japan, and Korea

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  • Rong Fu
  • Haruko Noguchi

Abstract

Objectives: This study focuses on East Asian countries and investigates the difference in the marriage premium on the health-marriage protection effect (MPE) between younger and older generations and the intra-couple education concordance effect (ECE) on the health of married individuals. This study used inter-country comparative data from China, Japan, and Korea. Methods: This study focused on individuals (n = 7,938) in China, Japan, and Korea who were sampled from the 2010 East Asian Social Survey. To investigate MPE and ECE, four health indicators were utilized: a physical and mental components summary (PCS and MCS), self-rated health status (Dself), and happiness level (Dhappy). Ordinary least squares regression was conducted by country- and gender-specific subsamples. Results: We found that the MPE on PCS, MCS, and Dself was more significant for the older generation than for the younger generation in both China and Japan, whereas the results were inconclusive in Korea. With regard to the ECE on happiness (Dhappy), for both men and women, couples tend to be happier when both the husband and the wife are well educated (“higher balanced marriage”) compared to couples with a lower level of educational achievement (“lower balanced marriage”). Significant benefits from a “higher balanced marriage” on MCS and Dself were observed for women only. In contrast, no statistically significant differences in health status were observed between “higher balanced marriage” couples and couples with different levels of educational achievements (“upward marriage” or “downward marriage”). Conclusions: This study found that (1) the MPE was more significant for the older generation, and (2) the health gap, particularly the happiness gap, between higher- and lower-balanced married couples was significant. The inter-country comparative findings are useful to explain how the role of marriage (and therefore of family) on health has been diluted due to the progress of industrialization and modernization.

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  • Rong Fu & Haruko Noguchi, 2016. "Does Marriage Make Us Healthier? Inter-Country Comparative Evidence from China, Japan, and Korea," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0148990
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148990
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Robert D. Retherford & Naohiro Ogawa & Rikiya Matsukura, 2001. "Late Marriage and Less Marriage in Japan," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 27(1), pages 65-102, March.
    3. Wim Groot & Henriëtte Van Den Brink, 2002. "Age and Education Differences in Marriages and their Effects on Life Satisfaction," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 153-165, June.
    4. Lantz, Paula M. & Lynch, John W. & House, James S. & Lepkowski, James M. & Mero, Richard P. & Musick, Marc A. & Williams, David R., 2001. "Socioeconomic disparities in health change in a longitudinal study of US adults: the role of health-risk behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 29-40, July.
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    1. Sunitha Singh & Sowmya Kshtriya & Reimara Valk, 2023. "Health, Hope, and Harmony: A Systematic Review of the Determinants of Happiness across Cultures and Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-68, February.
    2. Kazuma Sato, 2020. "Does marriage improve subjective health in Japan?," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 247-286, April.
    3. Wenjuan Du & Jiayi Zhou & Jianjian Liu & Xuhao Yang & Hanxu Wang & Meikun He & Zongfu Mao & Xiaojun Liu, 2019. "Social-Demographic Correlates of the Mental Health Conditions among the Chinese Elderly," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Fu, Rong & Noguchi, Harkuo & Tachikawa, Hirokazu & Aiba, Miyuki & Nakamine, Shin & Kawamura, Akira & Takahashi, Hideto & Tamiya, Nanako, 2017. "Relation between social network and psychological distress among middle-aged adults in Japan: Evidence from a national longitudinal survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 58-65.
    5. Takahashi, Shuko & Jang, Soong-nang & Kino, Shiho & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2020. "Gender inequalities in poor self-rated health: Cross-national comparison of South Korea and Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    6. Jing Li & Xu Hui & Zhenxing Lu & Xiaocao Ren & Wenlong Yan & Peijing Yan & Liang Yao & Kehu Yang, 2022. "PROTOCOL: The association between marital transitions and physical and mental health in late life: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), June.
    7. 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.
    8. Sanni Yaya & Sharmistha Ghosh & Bishwajit Ghose, 2019. "Subjective Happiness, Health and Quality of Life and Their Sociocultural Correlates among Younger Population in Malawi," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-18, February.

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