The health consequence of rising housing prices in China

Yuanwei Xu and Feicheng Wang

No 403, University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics from University of Goettingen, Department of Economics

Abstract: China has experienced a rapid boom in real estate prices in the last few decades, leading toa substantial increase in living costs and heavy financial burdens on households. Usingan instrumental variable approach, this paper exploits spatial and temporal variation inhousing price appreciation linked to individual-level health data in China from 2000 to 2011.We find robust evidence that increases in housing prices significantly raise the probability ofresidents having chronic diseases. This negative health impact is more pronounced amongindividuals from low-income families, households that purchased rather than inheritedor was allocated the home, and those who migrated from rural to urban areas. We alsofind evidence that marriage market competition exacerbates these negative health effects,particularly for males and parents with young adult sons. Further empirical results suggestthat housing price appreciation induces negative health consequences through increasedwork intensity, higher mental stress, and reduced sleep time. This paper provides a novelexplanation to the increased prevalence of chronic diseases in China.

Keywords: Housing Prices; Chronic Diseases; Health; Marriage Competition; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G51 I10 I12 R21 R31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-tra and nep-ure
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:cegedp:403

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