IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i18p6595-d411756.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Public Health Insurance on Household Credit Availability in Rural China: Evidence from NRCMS

Author

Listed:
  • Qing Yang

    (School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Rd., Shanghai 200433, China)

  • Qing Xu

    (Research Institute for Agriculture, Farmer and Rural Society in China, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Rd., Shanghai 200433, China
    Institute of Finance & Economics, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Rd., Shanghai 200433, China)

  • Yufeng Lu

    (Institute of Finance & Economics, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Rd., Shanghai 200433, China)

  • Jin Liu

    (Research Institute for Agriculture, Farmer and Rural Society in China, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Rd., Shanghai 200433, China
    Institute of Finance & Economics, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Rd., Shanghai 200433, China)

Abstract

A large body of literature has shown that the burden of healthcare can push individuals and households into the burden of medical care and income loss. This makes it difficult for rural or low-income households to obtain and use safe and affordable formal credit services. In 2003, China’s government implemented a new rural public health insurance, which was called the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS). This study provides evidence of the impact of NRCMS on household credit availability using the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) for 2010. The tobit regression approach and mediator model are used. The results show that, as a public health insurance system sustained by the participation of government investment, the NRCMS provides good “collateral” and significantly enhances rural households’ formal credit availability level. Furthermore, this positive effect is mainly reflected in the economic effect of NRCMS. Our results are robust to alternative statistical methods. Our findings suggest that expanding access, fulfilling the NRCMS mortgage function, and providing more financial services for rural households would have big benefits with regard to easing credit constraints for rural residents.

Suggested Citation

  • Qing Yang & Qing Xu & Yufeng Lu & Jin Liu, 2020. "The Impact of Public Health Insurance on Household Credit Availability in Rural China: Evidence from NRCMS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:18:p:6595-:d:411756
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6595/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6595/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feder, Gershon & Onchan, Tongroj & Raparla, Tejaswi, 1988. "Collateral, guaranties and rural credit in developing countries: evidence from Asia," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 2(3), pages 231-245, November.
    2. Wagstaff, Adam & Lindelow, Magnus & Jun, Gao & Ling, Xu & Juncheng, Qian, 2009. "Extending health insurance to the rural population: An impact evaluation of China's new cooperative medical scheme," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Bao Duong, Pham & Izumida, Yoichi, 2002. "Rural Development Finance in Vietnam: A Microeconometric Analysis of Household Surveys," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 319-335, February.
    4. Gershon Feder & Lawrence J. Lau & Justin Y. Lin & Xiaopeng Luo, 1990. "The Relationship between Credit and Productivity in Chinese Agriculture: A Microeconomic Model of Disequilibrium," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 72(5), pages 1151-1157.
    5. Cai, Lixin, 2010. "The relationship between health and labour force participation: Evidence from a panel data simultaneous equation model," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 77-90, January.
    6. Lingguo Cheng & Hong Liu & Ye Zhang & Ke Shen & Yi Zeng, 2015. "The Impact of Health Insurance on Health Outcomes and Spending of the Elderly: Evidence from China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(6), pages 672-691, June.
    7. Bai, Chong-En & Wu, Binzhen, 2014. "Health insurance and consumption: Evidence from China’s New Cooperative Medical Scheme," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 450-469.
    8. Yuan, Yan & Xu, Lihe, 2015. "Are poor able to access the informal credit market? Evidence from rural households in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 232-246.
    9. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    10. Xiaoyan Lei & Wanchuan Lin, 2009. "The New Cooperative Medical Scheme in rural China: does more coverage mean more service and better health?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S2), pages 25-46, July.
    11. Selma J. Mushkin, 1962. "Health as an Investment," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 129-157, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Alma Cohen & Peter Siegelman, 2010. "Testing for Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 77(1), pages 39-84, March.
    13. Zhou, Guoliang & Chen, Ran & Chen, Mingsheng, 2020. "Equity in health-care financing in China during the progression toward universal health coverage," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    14. Zheng Shen & Marie Parker & Derek Brown & Xiangming Fang, 2017. "Effects of public health insurance on labor supply in rural China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 623-642, November.
    15. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    16. Vo, Thang T. & Van, Pham Hoang, 2019. "Can health insurance reduce household vulnerability? Evidence from Viet Nam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Jin Liu & Yufeng Lu & Qing Xu & Qing Yang, 2019. "Public Health Insurance, Non-Farm Labor Supply, and Farmers’ Income: Evidence from New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-15, December.
    18. Qin, Xuezheng & Pan, Jay & Liu, Gordon G., 2014. "Does participating in health insurance benefit the migrant workers in China? An empirical investigation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 263-278.
    19. Selma J. Mushkin, 1962. "Health as an Investment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(5), pages 129-129.
    20. James P. Smith, 2015. "Economic Shocks, Early Life Circumstances and Later Life Outcomes: Introduction," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(588), pages 306-310, November.
    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. Chen, Yi & Shi, Julie & Zhuang, Castiel Chen, 2019. "Income-dependent impacts of health insurance on medical expenditures: Theory and evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 290-310.
    2. Jinjing Wu & Shelby Deaton & Boshen Jiao & Zohn Rosen & Peter A Muennig, 2018. "The cost-effectiveness analysis of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Wang, Yijie & Shi, Julie & Yao, Yi & Sun, Wenkai, 2022. "The impact of health insurance on job location choice: Evidence from rural China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 569-583.
    4. Bairoliya, Neha & Canning, David & Miller, Ray & Saxena, Akshar, 2018. "The macroeconomic and welfare implications of rural health insurance and pension reforms in China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 11(C), pages 71-92.
    5. Edgar E. Twine & Elizaphan J. O. Rao & Isabelle Baltenweck & Amos O. Omore, 2019. "Are Technology Adoption and Collective Action Important in Accessing Credit? Evidence from Milk Producers in Tanzania," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(3), pages 388-412, July.
    6. Lurås, Hilde, 2009. "A healthy lifestyle: The product of opportunities and preferences," HERO Online Working Paper Series 2001:11, University of Oslo, Health Economics Research Programme.
    7. Yongqing Dong & Liping Fu & Ronghui Tan & Liman Ding, 2019. "The Dilemma of Medical Reimbursement Policy in Rural China: Spatial Variability between Reimbursement Region and Medical Catchment Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-18, August.
    8. Ayhan KULOĞLU & Eyyup ECEVİT, 2017. "The Relationship Between Health Development Index And Financial Development Index: Evidence From High Income Countries," Journal of Research in Economics, Politics & Finance, Ersan ERSOY, vol. 2(2), pages 83-95.
    9. Saten Kumar, 2013. "Systems GMM estimates of the health care spending and GDP relationship: a note," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 14(3), pages 503-506, June.
    10. Jaison Chireshe & Matthew K. Ocran, 2020. "Health care expenditure and health outcomes in sub‐Saharan African countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 349-361, September.
    11. Coast, Joanna, 2018. "A history that goes hand in hand: Reflections on the development of health economics and the role played by Social Science & Medicine, 1967–2017," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 227-232.
    12. Sarah Brown & Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2010. "Reservation wages, labour market participation and health," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 173(3), pages 501-529, July.
    13. Yingya Yang & Liangliang Zhou & Chongmei Zhang & Xin Luo & Yihan Luo & Wei Wang, 2022. "Public Health Services, Health Human Capital, and Relative Poverty of Rural Families," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-14, September.
    14. Christopher P. P. Shafuda & Utpal Kumar De, 2020. "Government expenditure on human capital and growth in Namibia: a time series analysis," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Liu, Kai, 2016. "Insuring against health shocks: Health insurance and household choices," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 16-32.
    16. Shen, Ke & Wang, Feng & Cai, Yong, 2016. "Patterns of inequalities in public transfers by gender in China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 8(C), pages 76-84.
    17. Liu, Xiao & Burge, Gregory S., 2024. "The effect of the new cooperative medical scheme on rural labor supply in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    18. Lili Li & Yiwu Zeng & Zhonggen Zhang & Changluan Fu, 2020. "The Impact of Internet Use on Health Outcomes of Rural Adults: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-14, September.
    19. Fei Xie & Xiaoqing Jiang & Fang Yuan & Xiaoyun Chen & Zhaokang Yuan & Yuanan Lu, 2018. "Impact of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme on the Rural Residents’ Hospitalization Medical Expenses: A Five-Year Survey Study for the Jiangxi Province in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-11, June.
    20. Zakir Husain & Mousumi Dutta & Nidhi Chowdhary, 2014. "Is Health Wealth? Results of a Panel Data Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 121-143, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ; New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS); public health insurance; credit availability; China; ; I18: G50; O16;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G50 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - General
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:18:p:6595-:d:411756. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.