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Parental Unemployment and Child Health in China

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  • Pieters, Janneke

    (Wageningen University)

  • Rawlings, Samantha

    (University of Reading)

Abstract

This paper studies the causal effect of maternal and paternal unemployment on child health in China, analyzing panel data for the period 1997-2004, when the country underwent economic reforms leading to massive layoffs. We find that paternal unemployment reduces child health, while maternal unemployment has beneficial child health impacts. Analysis of channels shows that paternal and maternal unemployment have different effects on income, time use, mothers' blood pressure, and certain health investments, including children's diets. Our results support the notion that traditional gender roles can explain why mothers and fathers' unemployment affect child health so differently.

Suggested Citation

  • Pieters, Janneke & Rawlings, Samantha, 2016. "Parental Unemployment and Child Health in China," IZA Discussion Papers 10021, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10021
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    3. Mbalenhle Mkhize & Melusi Sibanda, 2020. "A Review of Selected Studies on the Factors Associated with the Nutrition Status of Children Under the Age of Five Years in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-26, October.
    4. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "Parental unemployment, social insurance and child well-being across countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 600-617.
    5. Mine Kühn & Anna Baranowska & Niina Metsä-Simola & Liina M. Junna & Pekka Martikainen, 2022. "The effects of unemployment among single mothers on adolescent children’s mental health," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-026, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Ubaldi Michele & Picchio Matteo, 2025. "Intergenerational Scars: The Impact of Parental Unemployment on Individual Health Later in Life," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 26(1), pages 35-70.
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    8. Stefano Cellini & Livia Menezes & Martin Foureaux Koppensteiner, 2022. "Maternal Displacements during Pregnancy and the Health of Newborns," Discussion Papers 22-02, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    9. Huan Wang & Claire Cousineau & Yuwei Adeline Hu & Grace Hu & Sunny Qi & Adrian Sun & Helen Wu & Scott Rozelle & Manpreet Singh, 2021. "Examining the Relation between Caregiver Mental Health and Student Outcomes in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-18, November.
    10. Fu, Wentao & Zhu, Feng & Cheng, Yao, 2023. "Gender differences in intergenerational effects of laid-off parents," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
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    12. Guozhen Gao & Jinmiao Hu & Yuanyuan Wang & Guofeng Wang, 2022. "Regional Inequalities and Influencing Factors of Residents’ Health in China: Analysis from the Perspective of Opening-Up," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-17, September.
    13. Isha Chawla & Joseph Svec, 2023. "Household savings and present bias among Chinese couples: A household bargaining approach," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 648-672, January.
    14. Ervin Dervisevic & Maria C. Lo Bue & Elizaveta Perova, 2021. "Maternal employment and children's outcomes: Evidence from Indonesia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-186, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Gehrke, Esther & Lenel, Friederike & Schupp, Claudia, 2022. "COVID-19 crisis, economic hardships and schooling outcomes," OSF Preprints cyqd2_v1, Center for Open Science.
    16. Siwei Guo & Zhaopeng Qu & Weizeng Sun & Ming‐ang Zhang, 2024. "Special economic zone and infant mortality: Evidence from China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(8), pages 1660-1681, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child health; unemployment; nutrition; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J69 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Other
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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