The Effect of Health on the Elderly's Labor Supply in Rural China: Simultaneous Equation Models With Binary, Ordered, and Censored Variables

Abstract

In this study, we examined the effect of health on the elderly's labor supply in rural China based on the data of the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1997 to 2006. We used simultaneous equations to address the endogeneity problem of health and estimate the models with censored data of labor supply by the full information maximum likelihood estimation. We found that the failing health does not significantly decrease the elderly's labor supply in rural areas when using both the subjective (self-reported health status) and objective (hypertension diagnosed or not) health indicators. Our finding indicates the phenomenon of “ceaseless toil” for the elderly in rural China, i.e., the elderly almost work their whole life even if they are not physically capable. The results remain robust when using a two-stage limited information maximum likelihood estimation.

Geographical accessibility of medical resources, health status, and demand of integrated care for older people: a cross-sectional survey from Western China

“…Self-rated health status was measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = “very poor”, 2 = “poor”, 3 = “general”, 4 = “good”, 5 = “very good”) based on an individual’s self-perceived general health. This instrument has been widely used to evaluate and predict the health status of the older population [ 21 , 22 ]. In this study, the options “very poor,” “poor,” and “generally” were considered to have poorer self-rated health status than the remaining options.…”

“…Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that objective health status may affect the individual’s subjective health status and further impact the ICOPE demand. However, as an individual’s perception of health is not completely affected by objective health status [ 19 , 22 ], evaluating ICOPE demand requires comprehensive access to health information for older people.…”

Geographical accessibility of medical resources, health status, and demand of integrated care for the elderly: a cross-sectional survey from Western China

“…Self-rated health status was obtained by a 5-point Likert scale (very poor, poor, general, good, very good) based on an individual's self-perceived general health. This instrument has been widely used to evaluate and predict the health status of the elderly population [19,20]. In this study, the options "very poor," "poor," and "generally" were considered to have poorer self-rated health status than the remaining options.…”

“…Therefore, assuming that objective health status may affect the individual's subjective health status and further impact the ICOPE demands is reasonable. However, an individual's perception of health is not completely affected by objective health status [17,20].…”