IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v311y2022ics0277953622006153.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of women's off-farm employment on depressive symptoms: Evidence from rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Shen, Zheng
  • Fang, Xiangming
  • Zheng, Xiaodong

Abstract

While China's economy has grown rapidly in recent decades, urban-rural inequalities in mental health have persisted, and depression is more prevalent among rural women. Using a nationally-representative survey data in China, this paper investigates the impact of women's off-farm employment on their depressive symptoms. Results from instrumental variable and individual fixed effects estimation show that women's participation in off-farm employment leads to a significant reduction in depressive symptoms. We further take into account the confounding effects of working conditions, and the main results are robust. Moreover, off-farm employment enhances women's mental health mainly through pathways including increased absolute income, higher self-perceived relative income, more frequent healthy behaviors, increased likelihood of health investment, and obtaining more formal social support. Further evidence suggests that the depression-reducing effect of off-farm employment is more effective for those with more severe depressive symptoms, middle-aged and elderly persons, and women with lower body mass index. The findings have important implications for preventing depressive disorders and improving mental health in China and other developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Shen, Zheng & Fang, Xiangming & Zheng, Xiaodong, 2022. "The impact of women's off-farm employment on depressive symptoms: Evidence from rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:311:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622006153
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115309
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622006153
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115309?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nong Zhu & Xubei Luo, 2010. "The impact of migration on rural poverty and inequality: a case study in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(2), pages 191-204, March.
    2. Zheng Shen & Derek S. Brown & Xiaodong Zheng & Hualei Yang, 2022. "Women’s Off-Farm Work Participation and Son Preference in Rural China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 899-928, June.
    3. Hilda Osafo Hounkpatin & Alex Wood & Gordon Brown & Graham Dunn, 2015. "Why does Income Relate to Depressive Symptoms? Testing the Income Rank Hypothesis Longitudinally," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 637-655, November.
    4. Goerke, Laszlo & Pannenberg, Markus, 2015. "Direct evidence for income comparisons and subjective well-being across reference groups," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 95-101.
    5. Jonasson, Erik & Helfand, Steven M., 2010. "How Important are Locational Characteristics for Rural Non-agricultural Employment? Lessons from Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 727-741, May.
    6. Lei, Xiaoyan & Sun, Xiaoting & Strauss, John & Zhang, Peng & Zhao, Yaohui, 2014. "Depressive symptoms and SES among the mid-aged and elderly in China: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study national baseline," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 224-232.
    7. Berkman, Lisa F. & Glass, Thomas & Brissette, Ian & Seeman, Teresa E., 2000. "From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 843-857, September.
    8. Van de Velde, Sarah & Bracke, Piet & Levecque, Katia, 2010. "Gender differences in depression in 23 European countries. Cross-national variation in the gender gap in depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 305-313, July.
    9. Qin, Xuezheng & Wang, Suyin & Hsieh, Chee-Ruey, 2018. "The prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms among adults in China: Estimation based on a National Household Survey," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 271-282.
    10. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada, 2005. "Income and well-being: an empirical analysis of the comparison income effect," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 997-1019, June.
    11. Bromberger, J.T. & Matthews, K.A., 1994. "Employment status and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women: A longitudinal investigation," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 84(2), pages 202-206.
    12. Frederick J. Zimmerman & Wayne Katon, 2005. "Socioeconomic status, depression disparities, and financial strain: what lies behind the income‐depression relationship?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(12), pages 1197-1215, December.
    13. Elena Cottini & Claudio Lucifora, 2013. "Mental Health and Working Conditions in Europe," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 958-988, July.
    14. Parikh, Alka & Thorbecke, Erik, 1996. "Impact of Rural Industrialization on Village Life and Economy: A Social Accounting Matrix Approach," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(2), pages 351-377, January.
    15. Lizhong Peng & Chad D. Meyerhoefer & Samuel H. Zuvekas, 2016. "The Short‐Term Effect of Depressive Symptoms on Labor Market Outcomes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(10), pages 1223-1238, October.
    16. Attila Cseh*, 2008. "The Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Earnings," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(2), pages 383-409, October.
    17. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    18. Johnny Hellgren & Antonio Chirumbolo, 2003. "Can Union Support Reduce the Negative Effects of Job Insecurity on Well-Being?," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 24(2), pages 271-289, May.
    19. Attila Cseh, 2008. "The Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Earnings," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(2), pages 383-409, August.
    20. Gemma Vilagut & Carlos G Forero & Gabriela Barbaglia & Jordi Alonso, 2016. "Screening for Depression in the General Population with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D): A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
    21. Linxiu Zhang & Yongqing Dong & Chengfang Liu & Yunli Bai, 2018. "Off-farm employment over the past four decades in rural China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(2), pages 190-214, May.
    22. Lanjouw, Jean O. & Lanjouw, Peter, 2001. "The rural non-farm sector: issues and evidence from developing countries," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-23, October.
    23. Linxiu Zhang & Yongqing Dong & Chengfang Liu & Yunli Bai, 2018. "Off-farm employment over the past four decades in rural China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(2), pages 190-214, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Amare, Mulubrhan & Waibel, Herman, 2014. "Climate Variability, Shocks and Non-farm Employment: Evidence from Rural Households in Northeast Thailand," 54th Annual Conference, Goettingen, Germany, September 17-19, 2014 187571, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    2. Yihu Zhou & Tingting Fang, 2023. "How Migration Behavior Affects the Contracted Land Disposal Methods of Rural Migrants in China: An Analysis Based on the Perspective of Geographical Differences," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Germinario, Giuseppe & Amin, Vikesh & Flores, Carlos A. & Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso, 2022. "What can we learn about the effect of mental health on labor market outcomes under weak assumptions? Evidence from the NLSY79," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Amare, M. & Waibel, H., 2015. "Climate Variability, Shocks and Non-farm Employment: Evidence from Rural Household in Northeast Thailand," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 50, March.
    5. Van Hoyweghen, Kaat & Van Den Broek, Goedele & Maertens, Miet, 2018. "Understanding the importance of wage employment for rural development: Evidence from Senegal," Working Papers 272323, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    6. Claire Benny & Shelby Yamamoto & Sheila McDonald & Radha Chari & Roman Pabayo, 2022. "Modelling Maternal Depression: An Agent-Based Model to Examine the Complex Relationship between Relative Income and Depression," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-12, April.
    7. Jan Fałkowski & Maciej Jakubowski & Paweł Strawiński, 2014. "Returns from income strategies in rural Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(1), pages 139-178, January.
    8. Almeida, Alexandre N. & Bravo-Ureta, Boris E., 2019. "Agricultural productivity, shadow wages and off-farm labor decisions in Nicaragua," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 99-110.
    9. Zeeshan & Geetilaxmi Mohapatra & Arun Kumar Giri, 2022. "How Farm Household Spends Their Non-farm Incomes in Rural India? Evidence from Longitudinal Data," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(4), pages 1967-1996, August.
    10. Andaleeb Rahman & Sumit Mishra, 2020. "Does Non-farm Income Affect Food Security? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(6), pages 1190-1209, June.
    11. Michiel Slag & Martijn J. Burger & Ruut Veenhoven, 2019. "Did the Easterlin Paradox apply in South Korea between 1980 and 2015? A case study," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 66(4), pages 325-351, December.
    12. Nguyen, Huy, 2014. "The effect of land fragmentation on labor allocation and the economic diversity of farm households: The case of Vietnam," MPRA Paper 57521, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Kiros Tsegay & Hongzhong Fan & AM Priyangani Adikari & Hailay Shifare, 2021. "Does gender matter for household livelihood diversification in Ethiopia rural areas?," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 221-232, September.
    14. Dufhues, Thomas & Möllers, Judith & Jantsch, Antje & Buchenrieder, Gertrud & Camfield, Laura, 2023. "Don’t look up! Individual income comparisons and subjective well-being of students in Thailand," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 24(2), pages 477-503.
    15. Marwan Benali & Bernhard Brümmer & Victor Afari‐Sefa, 2018. "Smallholder participation in vegetable exports and age‐disaggregated labor allocation in Northern Tanzania," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 549-562, September.
    16. Andrew E. Clark, 2017. "Happiness, income and poverty," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 64(2), pages 145-158, June.
    17. Chen, Xi & Wang, Tianyu & Busch, Susan H., 2019. "Does money relieve depression? Evidence from social pension expansions in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 411-420.
    18. Vicki L. Bogan & Angela R. Fertig & David R. Just, 2022. "Self-employment and mental health," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 855-886, September.
    19. Wicke, Felix S. & Schmidt, Peter & Petersen, Julia & Ernst, Mareike & Krakau, Lina & Brähler, Elmar & Tibubos, Ana N. & Otten, Danielle & Reiner, Iris & Michal, Matthias & Schulz, Andreas & Münzel, Th, 2022. "Depression predicts equivalized income five years later, but not vice versa: Results from the prospective Gutenberg Health Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    20. Nkechi S. Owoo & Wim Naudé, 2017. "Spatial proximity and firm performance: evidence from non-farm rural enterprises in Ethiopia and Nigeria," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(5), pages 688-700, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:311:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622006153. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.