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Health Insurance And Medical Impoverishment In Rural China: Evidence From Guizhou Province

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Listed:
  • YUMEI ZHANG

    () (Agricultural Information Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, #12 Zhong Guan Cun Nan Da Jie, Haidian District, Beijing, China, 100081, China)

  • MATEUSZ J. FILIPSKI

    () (Development Strategy and Governance Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20815, USA)

  • KEVIN Z. CHEN

    () (International Food Policy Research Institute, #12 Zhong Guan Cun Nan Da Jie, Haidian District, CAAS, Mailbox F16, Beijing, China, 100081, China)

Abstract

We analyze the effects of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) on poverty, using micro-level household data from 17 villages in a poor area of China’s Guizhou province. A four-wave panel dataset allows us to follow NCMS through its reforms. First-order impact assessments suggest NCMS helps reduce the poverty rate by up to 3 percentage points, and the poverty gap by up to 15 percentage points. It also reduces the contribution of health expenditures to inequality as measured by Gini coefficient. The benefits of NCMS in terms of poverty and inequality appear considerably larger after major reforms in 2009, which expanded benefits and coverage.

Suggested Citation

  • Yumei Zhang & Mateusz J. Filipski & Kevin Z. Chen, 2019. "Health Insurance And Medical Impoverishment In Rural China: Evidence From Guizhou Province," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(03), pages 727-745, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:serxxx:v:64:y:2019:i:03:n:s021759081650017x
    DOI: 10.1142/S021759081650017X
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. XING, Li & FAN, Shenggen & LUO, Xiaopeng & ZHang, Xiaobo, 2009. "Community poverty and inequality in western China: A tale of three villages in Guizhou Province," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 338-349, June.
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