Modeling Trade Openness and Life Expectancy in China

This study investigates life expectancy and trade openness in China for the period 1960-2018.

We purposed a theoretical model that is tested for China by applying regime-switching regression.

Our findings suggest that trade openness increases life expectancy in China; trade affects life expectancy from two aspects; firstly, trade expansion and industrialization lead to high economic activities and resulted in raise the income of the people in society leading to improve life expectancy. Secondly, industrial expansion increases the CO₂ emissions which leads to imposes a negative implication on human health and thus reduces life expectancy.

Thus, the net effect of trade liberalization depends on the value of income effect and volume of CO₂ emissions. Therefore, the government needs to support the trade policies which causes a low level of CO₂ emissions, the government may provide incentives to exports and industrialists to adopted green energy in the production process. Besides, the government may impose some regulations such as carbon tax to mitigate the CO₂ emissions in society.