Abstract
Background: The incidence of chronic diseases has increased dramatically due to rapid aging and lifestyle changes of China in recent decades. The population aged more than 45 years is an important participant in the labor force market, and the health status directly affects their labor force participation decision. This study aims to explore the relationship between chronic diseases and the labor force participation among the elderly Chinese population aged more than 45 years.Method: We employ a multivariate probit (MVP) model to construct five structural equations for an analysis. The advantage of this model is that it can deal with the endogeneity of chronic diseases.Results: Firstly, compared with the elderly, younger people are more likely to participate in the labor force market; the influence of chronic diseases is the largest for presenile women in the decision-making of labor force participation; the impact of psychological problems on labor force participation cannot be ignored, especially for men aged more than 45 years. In addition, sociodemographic factors such as geographical location and marital status also have direct effects on the probability of labor force participation while the impact of both family wealth and family number is much smaller. Finally, unhealthy lifestyles through chronic diseases have negative and indirect marginal effects on labor force participation.Conclusions: This article proves that chronic diseases have a negative impact on the labor force participation for Chinese aged more than 45 years. The public should give more tolerance and opportunities to these groups. The population aged more than 45 years are more vulnerable and face more psychological problems, which will lead to a decline in labor force participation. Psychological health counseling and services are urgently needed. As the urban areas enjoy more social welfare, Chinese welfare policy needs to be tilted toward the rural elderly. For individuals, maintaining healthy lifestyles can help you stay away from chronic diseases and stay in the labor force market.
Highlights
The global aging problem has become increasingly prominent, and the growth rate of the aging population of China ranks first in the world
Chronic diseases possessing the characteristics of comorbidity, different chronic diseases may have similar influencing factors, and a separate analysis of each chronic disease cannot reflect the real impact on labor force participation
Our article chooses the multivariate probit (MVP) model to evaluate the impact of the four chronic diseases on the labor force participation of presenile and senile Chinese residents
Summary
The global aging problem has become increasingly prominent, and the growth rate of the aging population of China ranks first in the world. In 2020, the population aged more than 40 years accounted for ∼17.8% of the total population in China. The aging of population has led to the changes in disease patterns dominated by chronic diseases, which put tremendous pressure on the society and the economy [1]. Chronic diseases have been described as a nonnegligible problem accompanying the aging society. The incidence of chronic diseases has increased dramatically due to rapid aging and lifestyle changes of China in recent decades. The population aged more than 45 years is an important participant in the labor force market, and the health status directly affects their labor force participation decision. This study aims to explore the relationship between chronic diseases and the labor force participation among the elderly Chinese population aged more than 45 years
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
