Education Level, Underemployment, and Health

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Labor Economics
• Sociology

Background:

• Underemployment is a growing concern, linked to significant health inequalities.
• Existing research often overlooks the nuanced relationship between education level and underemployment's health consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically analyze the impact of education level on the health of underemployed workers.
• To investigate the mechanisms driving health inequalities stemming from underemployment across different education strata.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2016 China Labor-force Dynamics Survey.
• Employed statistical analysis, including adjustments for indicator measurement and endogeneity considerations, to ensure robustness.

Main Results:

• Underemployment significantly correlates with reduced self-rated health, increased depressive tendencies, and higher illness prevalence.
• Health impacts of underemployment were significant for low and high education groups but not for the middle education group.
• Health inequality is primarily driven by economic and leisure effects, with middle education workers experiencing a positive leisure effect.

Conclusions:

• Underemployment exacerbates health inequalities, disproportionately affecting workers based on their education level.
• Findings support the need for enhanced labor protection for underemployed individuals.
• Policy interventions should address education-specific disparities in the health impacts of underemployment.