Early childhood exposure to health insurance and adolescent outcomes: Evidence from rural China

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Huang, Wei; Liu, Hong
• 署名单位: Peking University; National University of Singapore; Renmin University of China
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102925
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: Health insurance; HEALTH; cognition; Educational outcome; Early childhood; CHINA

摘要

This paper examines the impact of exposure to public health insurance in early life on outcomes in adolescence in rural China. Exploiting the variation in the county-by-county rollout of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) between 2003 and 2008, we find that exposure to the NCMS during ages 0-5 significantly improves health, cognitive, and educational outcomes during adolescence. In contrast, exposure after age five has no significant effects. Our further investigation provides evidence for several underlying mechanisms, such as improved prenatal care and birth outcomes, better preventive medical protection against childhood diseases, and lower risk in medical expenditure.