Blood biomarkers provide critical information about the health of older populations, especially in large developing countries where self-reports of health are often inaccurate due to lack of access to health care. However, it is very difficult to collect blood samples in representative population surveys in such countries. The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a nationally representative study of middle-aged and older Chinese, represents one of the first efforts to include blood biomarkers in a nationally representative survey of China. In the 2015 wave of CHARLS, 13,013 respondents located in 150 counties around China donated whole blood, which was assayed on a range of indicators. Here we describe the process of the sample collection, transportation, storage, and analysis and present basic statistics.

Although there is evidence that there was gender inequality in China's education system in the 1980s, the literature in China has mixed evidence on improvements in gender inequality in educational attainment over the past three decades. Some suggest gender inequality is still severe; others report progress. We seek to understand the progress China has made (if any) in reducing gender inequality in education since the 1980s. To meet this goal, we use a meta-analysis approach which provides a new quantitative review of a relatively large volume of empirical literature on gender educational differentials. This article analyzes differences across both time and space, and also across different grade levels and ethnicities. Our results indicate that gender inequality in educational attainment still exists, but it has been narrowing over time. Moreover, it varies by area (rural versus urban) and grade level. There is nearly no significant gender inequality in the case of girls in urban areas or in the case of the 9 years of compulsory education (primary school and junior high school). Girls, however, still face inequality in rural areas (although inequality is falling over time) and when they reach high school or beyond. (JEL I24)

Using a survey of 19,977 children in two provinces, this paper explores the prevalence, correlates and potential consequences of poor vision among children in China's vast but understudied rural areas. We find that 24% of sample students suffer from reduced uncorrected visual acuity in either eye and 16% in both eyes. Poor vision is significantly correlated with individual, parental and family characteristics, with modest magnitudes for all correlates but home province and grade level. The results also suggest a possible adverse impact of poor vision on academic performance and mental health, particularly among students with severe poor vision.

Using a survey of 19,977 children in two provinces, this paper explores the prevalence, correlates and potential consequences of poor vision among children in China's vast but understudied rural areas. We find that 24% of sample students suffer from reduced uncorrected visual acuity in either eye and 16% in both eyes. Poor vision is significantly correlated with individual, parental and family characteristics, with modest magnitudes for all correlates but home province and grade level. The results also suggest a possible adverse impact of poor vision on academic performance and mental health, particularly among students with severe poor vision.