Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Zeen He
Author-X-Name-First: Zeen
Author-X-Name-Last: He
Author-Email: z.he10@lancaster.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Lancaster University, Management School

Author-Name: Luu Duc Toan Huynh
Author-X-Name-First: Luu Duc Toan
Author-X-Name-Last: Huynh
Author-Email: t.huynh@qmul.ac.uk
Author-Workplace-Name: Queen Mary University of London, School of Business and Management

Title: Wealth, Medical Spending, and Health: Evidence from a Housing Reform

Abstract: This paper leverages China’s 2006 housing reform and a non-parametric Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) to identify the causal impact of housing wealth on health and healthcare spending across age groups. A positive housing wealth shock leads to an increase in out-of-pocket medical expenses of the elderly and children at both the extensive and intensive margins, thereby improving their health. These effects differ across age cohorts, highlighting how positive wealth shocks translate into health improvements through direct spending and private insurance uptake. In contrast, these health effects are not evident among young adults. Overall, the findings indicate that wealth shocks reduce health inequality within vulnerable households. The underlying mechanisms differ by age group: a pure wealth effect for the elderly, precautionary savings incentives for younger adults, and intergenerational investments for children.

Length: 79 pages

Creation-Date: 2026-03-09
Revision-Date: 2026-03-09
Publication-Status: Unpublished

Classification-JEL: G51; I11; I14

Keywords: Housing wealth; Medical expenditure; Health; China; Age differences

File-URL: http://cgr.sbm.qmul.ac.uk/CGRWP124.pdf
Number: 124
Handle: RePEc:cgs:wpaper:124