The impact of non-communicable chronic diseases on the earned income of working age Chinese residents

Abstract

This paper used two waves (2016 and 2018) of longitudinal data from the China Families Panel Survey (CFPS) to analyze the economic impact of Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) on individual earned income using propensity score matching and difference in difference (PSM-DID) methods to control for potential confounding. The occurrence of a NCDs was associated with a significant decrease in earned income by 19.2% (P = 0.002, t = 3.75). The reasons for this decrease include: a lower labour force participation rate; lower weekly hours worked; and a lower average hourly wage. After holding labour market behaviours constant, different types of NCDs have different impacts on earned income. Musculoskeletal diseases have the greatest negative impact, accounting for a 21.5% decrease in individual earned income (p < 0.0001, t = −7.84), while digestive system diseases have the smallest impact accounting for a 6.9% decrease in earned income (p = 0.012, t = −2.52).