Health Inequality between Ethnic Minority and Han Populations in China

SummaryThis paper examines the health status of Chinese ethnic minorities using the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data collected during 1989–2006. We found negative and significant differences between minority and Han Chinese in a set of anthropometric measures for people of all age groups. OLS and province fixed-effects regressions suggest that the economic development level of the province of residence is a major factor contributing to the gap. Oaxaca decompositions further reveal that the observed health gap is mainly due to inequalities in endowments rather than inequalities in their effects.