Health%20Insurance,%20Rural-to-urban%20Migration,%20and%20Social%20Inequality%20in%20China

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• Health Insurance, Rural-to-urban Migration, and
  Social Inequality in China
• Fang-I Wen
• (Co-authored with Hung-Hao Chang)
• Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research
• 10 July 2008

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Background

• Hukou system
• agricultural and non-agricultural hukou
• The economic reform and the relaxation of
  migration policy
• The social inequality for migrant workers

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Background

• Health Insurance Coverage in China (Previous
  Studies)
• Single equation model
• Regional disparity ? urban versus rural areas
• Socioeconomic status ? occupation, income,
  gender
• (Henderson et al, 1995 Akin, Dow, lance,
  2004)

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Objective
• ? Examine the association between Hukou
  system, working status, and the accessibility to
  health insurance in urban China
• Model Bivariate Probit Model
• Data
• ? micro-level data drawn from the China
  Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 2006
• ? focus on the data from city sites, and
  respondents who are currently working with age
  between 18 and 65.

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Bivariate Probit Model

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• I1 represents working status
• I1 1 if the individuals primary job is a
  part-time job
• I2 represents health insurance status
• Model 1 I2 1 if the individual has any types
  of health insurance
• Model 2 I2 1 if the individual has
  employment-related health insurance
• X represents socioeconomic and regional variables
  
• age, gender, education, wealth index, provinces

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Marginal Effect on prob (part-time 1)

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Marginal Effect on prob (part-time 1)
  (continued)

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Marginal Effect on prob (insurance1)

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Marginal Effect on prob (insurance1) (continued)

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Types of health insurance types by provinces

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Empirical Study of Health Coverage in Urban China

• Statistical Tests

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Concluding comments

• The individuals with rural hukou are at a
  disadvantage at their job seeking.
• ? They are more likely be hired as a
  part-time employee than their urban hukou
  counterpart.
• The disadvantage of the migrant workers in the
  labor market will lead to the inequality in their
  entitled health benefits.

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Concluding comments

• The migrant workers working benefits may not be
  easy to get improved in the short-run.
• ? Increase migrant workers health insurance
  coverage by improving the cooperative insurance
  system might be a more practical way.