Household durable goods and child health in China

Abstract

Abstract This article uses micro-level data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey to determine how ownership of time-saving household appliances impacts children’s health. Ownership of these appliances is found to decrease time allocated to household work by 56 min and increase the incidence of being overweight by 9.7 percentage points for children aged 5–18 years. When the sample is partitioned on the basis of gender, these outcomes are more pronounced among males. I instrument household ownership of time-saving appliances by average ownership rate among households with no children living in the same community as ownership of household durable goods is endogenous. With current concerns about rising rates of obesity and overweight in China, understanding some of the causes of these negative health outcomes is a crucial step in fighting childhood obesity.