School of Economics and Management, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China.
Front Public Health. 2024 Sep 12;12:1402191. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1402191. eCollection 2024.
Household health expenditure plays a crucial role in the daily spending of individuals. Meanwhile, the attention of the public to subjective well-being (SWB) is constantly increasing in China. Household health expenditure could reduce real family income, harming personal SWB. However, the aim of household health expenditure is to improve the physical condition of an individual, and improvements in individual health could enhance personal SWB. Therefore, the effect of household health expenditure on personal SWB is uncertain; hence, it is essential to assess the effects of household health expenditure on the SWB of Chinese residents.
The Chinese family panel studies database from 2016 to 2020 was applied in this study. A fixed effects model was used to examine the impact of household medical and health protection expenses on personal SWB. Fixed effects instrumental variable regression and propensity score matching were then used to conduct robustness testing.
On the basis of a fixed effects model, it was found that household medical and health protection expenditure did not improve the happiness and life satisfaction of individuals; rather, household health protection expenditure could significantly reduce personal happiness. Fixed effects instrumental variable regression and propensity score matching analysis supported these results. Household health protection expenditure had a greater negative impact on the happiness and life satisfaction of females compared with males.
Household health expenditure does not improve the SWB of individuals in China; this has certain significance for the formulation of relevant policies.
家庭医疗支出在个人日常支出中起着至关重要的作用。同时，中国公众对主观幸福感（SWB）的关注度也在不断提高。家庭医疗支出会降低家庭实际收入，从而损害个人的 SWB。然而，家庭医疗支出的目的是改善个人的身体状况，而个人健康状况的改善可以提高个人的 SWB。因此，家庭医疗支出对个人 SWB 的影响是不确定的；因此，评估家庭医疗支出对中国居民 SWB 的影响至关重要。
本研究使用了 2016 年至 2020 年的中国家庭面板研究数据库。采用固定效应模型检验家庭医疗保健支出对个人 SWB 的影响。然后使用固定效应工具变量回归和倾向得分匹配进行稳健性检验。
基于固定效应模型，发现家庭医疗保健支出并没有提高个人的幸福感和生活满意度；相反，家庭健康保护支出会显著降低个人幸福感。固定效应工具变量回归和倾向得分匹配分析支持了这些结果。家庭健康保护支出对女性的幸福感和生活满意度的负面影响大于男性。
家庭医疗支出并没有提高中国个人的 SWB；这对相关政策的制定具有一定意义。
