Research
Gender Differences in Health-Care Utilization: Evidence from Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) in China
In this paper, I apply a regression discontinuity design by exploiting the exogenous mandatory retirement age rules in China in order to identify the causal effect of retirement on health service utilization. Urban employees exit the labor market and experience loss of income after they retire. In the meantime, their social insurance - Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) - provision continues after individuals retire. Employees, however, stop paying the premium and enjoy reduced cost sharing after they retire. Individual medical expenses, insurance costs, and benefits are recorded in the China Household Finance Survey 2013 (CHFS). Overall, I find that the positive effect of lower cost sharing after retirement outweighs the negative effect of loss of income. Although medical savings accounts under the UEBMI can be used to smooth medical expenses over time, retired females significantly increase their total medical expenses by 3872 RMB and the amount covered by health insurance is raised by 3782 RMB. What is more, they are willing to pay 1852 RMB more out-of-pocket in order to utilize increased health care when they retire. In contrast, males do not significantly increase medical expenditures after retirement.
Quantile Regression with Generated Regressors
(with Antonio F. Galvao, Suyong Song)
This paper studies estimation and inference for linear quantile regression models with generated regressors. We suggest a practical two-step estimation procedure, where the generated regressors are computed in the first step. We establish asymptotic properties of the two-step estimator, namely, consistency and asymptotic normality. We show that the asymptotic variance-covariance matrix needs to be adjusted to account for the first-step estimation. We propose a general estimator for the asymptotic variance-covariance, establish its consistency, and develop testing procedures for linear hypotheses in these models. Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the finite-sample performance of the estimation and inference procedures are provided. Finally, we apply the proposed methods to study Engel curves for various commodities using data from the UK Family Expenditure Survey. We document strong heterogeneity in the estimated Engel curves along the conditional distribution of the budget share of each commodity. The empirical application also emphasizes that correctly estimating confidence intervals for the estimated Engel curves by the proposed estimator is of importance for inference.
Does Retirement Affect ``Sandwich'' Generation's Family Support Network?
This paper investigates the impact that retirement has on the family support networks of ``sandwich'' generations in China. These middle-aged households have an inter-generational support network that includes both upward transfers (their parents or parents-in-law), as well as downward transfers (their children). I use micro data from CHARLS (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study) concerning middle-aged and elderly households in order to evaluate the changes that retirement can have on this family support network, primarily by exploiting the exogenous mandatory retirement age rules in China. I make the identifying assumption that inter-generational transfers would evolve more smoothly if households would not retire and apply a regression discontinuity approach. I find that retirement induces ``sandwich'' generations to switch roles in the private network as well as in the public transfer channel; indeed, is 55 percentage point more likely that households will switch from resource providers to resource recipients in the channel of private transfers. In addition, these ``sandwich'' generations are about 47 percentage point more likely to receive money from their non-coresident children when they retire.
Gender Differences in Health-Care Utilization: Evidence from Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) in China
In this paper, I apply a regression discontinuity design by exploiting the exogenous mandatory retirement age rules in China in order to identify the causal effect of retirement on health service utilization. Urban employees exit the labor market and experience loss of income after they retire. In the meantime, their social insurance - Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) - provision continues after individuals retire. Employees, however, stop paying the premium and enjoy reduced cost sharing after they retire. Individual medical expenses, insurance costs, and benefits are recorded in the China Household Finance Survey 2013 (CHFS). Overall, I find that the positive effect of lower cost sharing after retirement outweighs the negative effect of loss of income. Although medical savings accounts under the UEBMI can be used to smooth medical expenses over time, retired females significantly increase their total medical expenses by 3872 RMB and the amount covered by health insurance is raised by 3782 RMB. What is more, they are willing to pay 1852 RMB more out-of-pocket in order to utilize increased health care when they retire. In contrast, males do not significantly increase medical expenditures after retirement.
Quantile Regression with Generated Regressors
(with Antonio F. Galvao, Suyong Song)
This paper studies estimation and inference for linear quantile regression models with generated regressors. We suggest a practical two-step estimation procedure, where the generated regressors are computed in the first step. We establish asymptotic properties of the two-step estimator, namely, consistency and asymptotic normality. We show that the asymptotic variance-covariance matrix needs to be adjusted to account for the first-step estimation. We propose a general estimator for the asymptotic variance-covariance, establish its consistency, and develop testing procedures for linear hypotheses in these models. Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the finite-sample performance of the estimation and inference procedures are provided. Finally, we apply the proposed methods to study Engel curves for various commodities using data from the UK Family Expenditure Survey. We document strong heterogeneity in the estimated Engel curves along the conditional distribution of the budget share of each commodity. The empirical application also emphasizes that correctly estimating confidence intervals for the estimated Engel curves by the proposed estimator is of importance for inference.
Does Retirement Affect ``Sandwich'' Generation's Family Support Network?
This paper investigates the impact that retirement has on the family support networks of ``sandwich'' generations in China. These middle-aged households have an inter-generational support network that includes both upward transfers (their parents or parents-in-law), as well as downward transfers (their children). I use micro data from CHARLS (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study) concerning middle-aged and elderly households in order to evaluate the changes that retirement can have on this family support network, primarily by exploiting the exogenous mandatory retirement age rules in China. I make the identifying assumption that inter-generational transfers would evolve more smoothly if households would not retire and apply a regression discontinuity approach. I find that retirement induces ``sandwich'' generations to switch roles in the private network as well as in the public transfer channel; indeed, is 55 percentage point more likely that households will switch from resource providers to resource recipients in the channel of private transfers. In addition, these ``sandwich'' generations are about 47 percentage point more likely to receive money from their non-coresident children when they retire.