¡°Fertility effect¡± or ¡°supporting effect?¡± ¡ªQuantity of children and parental health

Guodong Chen () and Xiaoyan Lei ()
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Guodong Chen: National School of Development (China Center for Economic Research), Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Xiaoyan Lei: National School of Development (China Center for Economic Research), Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, 2009, vol. 4, issue 4, 601-616

Abstract: Using the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, we try to identify the effect that quantity of children has on the health statuses of elderly parents. After dealing with a potential endogeneity problem using instrumental variable estimation, we find no significant long-arm “fertility effect,” but do find a positive “supporting effect” of the quantity of children on parental health. That is, giving birth to more children has no significant effect, but the availability of additional children in old age has a beneficial effect on health during that time. Further investigation yields a more significant effect on mothers than on fathers, and a more pronounced effect on cognitive health than on physical health, as measured by occurrences of hypertension.

Keywords: quantity of children; fertility effect; supporting effect; parental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 J13 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fec:journl:v:4:y:2009:i:4:p:601-616

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