Rufei Guo, Lin Lin, Junjian Yi, Junsen Zhang

Publication:

Journal of Development Economics

Abstract:

This paper studies the cross-spousal effect of education on health. We address the endogeneity of education that arises from one's own unobserved endowment using the within-twin fixed-effect method. We explore unique information on spousal health at both wedding and survey times to investigate the role of spousal unobserved endowment. We find that wives' education reduces husbands' consumption on cigarettes and alcohol, increases exercise frequency, lowers the probability of being overweight, and decreases the number of chronic diseases. By contrast, the effect of husbands' education on wives' health is weak.

Keywords: education; spousal health; within-twin fixed-effect estimation

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304387820300687