Parental Unemployment and Child Health in China

Janneke Pieters and Samantha Rawlings

No 10021, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

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.

Keywords: child health; unemployment; nutrition; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 J13 J69 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2016-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-hea, nep-lab, nep-ltv and nep-tra
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Published - published in: Review of Economics of the Household, 2019, 18(1), 207-237

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Related works:
Journal Article: Parental unemployment and child health in China (2020)
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