The effects of parental unemployment on children's health in China

Abstract: This thesis uses data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1991 to 2004 to estimate the short-term effects of parental unemployment on children's health through exogenous shocks from state-owned enterprise reforms at the end of the last century by employing fixed effects and instrumental variables methods. Findings show that parental unemployment decreases children's weight z-scores and reduces the frequency with which children have been ill or hurt in the past month. It also significantly affects children's nutrient intake over the past three days, particularly evident in low-income families and adolescent groups.