Background: Social participation (SP) is known to have a favourable impact on health. However, studies on this issue have been conducted mainly in advanced countries, and results in China have been mixed. This study examined the impact of SP on health outcomes of middle-aged and elderly adults in China, adjusted for simultaneity and heterogeneity biases. Methods: In total, 57,417 observations of 28,935 individuals obtained from the population-based, three-wave panel survey, Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), conducted in 2011, 2013, and 2015 were used. The associations between one-or two-wave-lagged SP and health outcomes (mental health, self-rated health [SRH], activities of daily living [ADL], and diagnosed diseases) were examined by linear regression models. Individual-level heterogeneity was addressed by the random-effects estimation method. Results: SP was found to have a positive impact on mental health and ADL. Specifically, one-wave-lagged SP improved mental health measure (range: 10-70) by 0.820 (standard error [SE]: 0.199, p < 0.001), the basic ADL measure (range: 6-24) by 0.147 (SE: 0.043, p < 0.001), and the instrumental ADL measure (range: 5-20) by 0.159 (SE: 0.035, p < 0.001). In contrast, SP did not significantly affect SRH or diagnosed diseases. The impact of SP differed by SP type; playing Mah-jong (Chinese traditional game), chess, or cards, or going to the community club had the most favourable effect. The impact of SP on health was also greater for women than men and greater for individuals aged 60-69 years than those aged 45-59 years and aged 70 and older. Conclusions: SP had a positive, albeit selective, impact on health outcomes among middle-aged and elderly adults in China. The results suggest that policy measures to encourage these individuals to engage in SP are needed to enhance their health.

Since energy consumption became an important contributor to climate change owing to carbon emissions, energy-saving behavior and expenditure at the household level have been attracting scholars’ and policymakers’ attention. This study identified whether greenhouse gas emissions at the household level can be reduced through purchase of energy-saving goods and whether the energy-saving behavior enhanced with household income increase. We conducted a large-scale survey across 37 nations using internet-based and face-to-face approaches, collecting 100,956 observations. The wealth effect on energy consumption expenditure at the household level was found to be positive across countries, confirming that energy consumption increases with household wealth improvement. Furthermore, households show a positive association between household energy expenditure and life satisfaction in 27 out of 37 countries, including China, India, the United States, and Germany. Additionally, the favorable effects of household energy-saving behavior are confirmed. However, purchase of household energy-saving products has a limited effect on energy consumption expenditure, compared with that of energy-curtailment behavior. In conclusion, achieving a carbon–neutral household by reducing energy consumption expenditure at the household level is challenging; thus, along with the use of energy-saving goods, alternative energy sources, such as renewable energies, are recommended.

This paper evaluates the correlation between intra-household bargaining power and the happiness of married women using Japanese longitudinal survey data (Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers: JPSC) from 1995 to 2013. The results suggest that when absolute income, relative household income, and other factors are constant, the income gap, wage gap and education gap between wife and husband negatively affect married Japanese women's happiness. The proportion of the total household income or husband's income controlled by the wife can positively affect married Japanese women's happiness. The effects of intra-household bargaining power on happiness are greater for the working married women group than the housewife group.

Background: Social participation (SP) is known to have a favourable impact on health. However, studies on this issue have been conducted mainly in advanced countries, and results in China have been mixed. This study examined the impact of SP on health outcomes of middle-aged and elderly adults in China, adjusted for simultaneity and heterogeneity biases. Methods: In total, 57,417 observations of 28,935 individuals obtained from the population-based, three-wave panel survey, Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), conducted in 2011, 2013, and 2015 were used. The associations between one- or two-wave-lagged SP and health outcomes (mental health, self-rated health [SRH], activities of daily living [ADL], and diagnosed diseases) were examined by linear regression models. Individual-level heterogeneity was addressed by the random-effects estimation method. Results: SP was found to have a positive impact on mental health and ADL. Specifically, one-wave-lagged SP improved mental health measure (range: 10–70) by 0.820 (standard error [SE]: 0.199, p < 0.001), the basic ADL measure (range: 6–24) by 0.147 (SE: 0.043, p < 0.001), and the instrumental ADL measure (range: 5–20) by 0.159 (SE: 0.035, p < 0.001). In contrast, SP did not significantly affect SRH or diagnosed diseases. The impact of SP differed by SP type; playing Mah-jong (Chinese traditional game), chess, or cards, or going to the community club had the most favourable effect. The impact of SP on health was also greater for women than men and greater for individuals aged 60–69 years than those aged 45–59 years and aged 70 and older. Conclusions: SP had a positive, albeit selective, impact on health outcomes among middle-aged and elderly adults in China. The results suggest that policy measures to encourage these individuals to engage in SP are needed to enhance their health.

Background Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) engagement is expected to benefit corporations in terms of their efficiency and sustainability. The transformative change in management practices would not only provide support for employees but also bring about additional workload, which may affect employee psychological well-being. However, the examination of the relationship between corporate ESG activities and occupational stress is scarce; hence, this study aims to fill this knowledge gap. Methods In total, 110,351 observations were collected from 41,998 employees regarding occupational stress to reflect employee psychological well-being. The data were derived from 11 corporations in Japan from 2017 to 2019. Data on ESG activities were collected from the MSCI ESG database from 2015 to 2017. The effect of 1-year lagged corporate ESG activities on employee psychological well-being was investigated using a lagged variable linear regression model. Results Positive and negative relationships were found between corporate environmental activities and occupational stress. Activities that reduce water stress during operation and adopt clean technology were found to benefit employees’ psychological well-being. On the contrary, the program for reducing toxic emissions and waste lowered employees’ occupational stress levels significantly. Regarding corporate social activities, the improvement of job satisfaction or work-life balance was associated with occupational stress. However, corporate governance activities were found to have unfavorable effects on employees’ psychological well-being. Conclusion The effects of corporate ESG activities on employees’ psychological well-being are found. The managerial implications suggest that caring for employees’ occupational stress during the implementation of environmental activities is necessary, and the adoption of social activities could enhance employees’ psychological well-being. Notably, corporate governance activities are a stressor for employees; top management teams should pay attention to it.