Ignorance is Whose Bliss: The Repeal of Compulsory Premarital Health Examinations and Marital Outcomes in Rural China
Journal of the European Economic Association · 2026 · Li Han、Xinzheng Shi、Ming-ang Zhang
中文摘要
健康状况关乎婚姻结果，但健康信息在婚前可能一直被隐瞒。我们构建了纳入社会经济地位（SES）与健康的匹配模型，该模型预测，健康信息的消失会使婚配筛选转向社会经济地位，从而可能降低子女健康与福利，尤其是对低社会经济地位群体而言。我们以中国农村取消强制婚前健康检查（PHE）为背景，对此进行了实证检验。我们的双重差分估计依据政策实施前各省婚前检查率的高低衡量暴露程度，结果证实，处理强度更高的省份婚配筛选模式的转变更为显著。基于健康的同类婚配（assortative matching）减少，对子女健康结果产生负面影响，随后婚后主观幸福感也随之下降。在同样受到高强度影响的省份内部，女性和低社会经济地位群体相较于各自的对照群体遭受了更大的损失，凸显了持续存在的性别与社会经济差距。
Abstract
Abstract Health matters for marital outcomes, but health information may remain concealed until marriage. Our matching model, which incorporates socioeconomic status (SES) and health, predicts that the removal of health information should shift sorting toward SES, potentially reducing child health and welfare, particularly for those with low SES. We empirically examine this in the context of rural China, following the repeal of compulsory premarital health examinations (PHE). Our difference-in-differences estimation, which compares provinces with varying levels of exposure based on pre-policy PHE rates, confirms a larger shift in sorting patterns in provinces with higher treatment intensity. The decrease in health-based assortative matching negatively affects child health outcomes, which is followed by a decline in postmarital subjective well-being. Women and low-SES individuals experience larger losses than their counterparts within the same highly affected provinces, highlighting persistent gender and socioeconomic disparities.