The effects of a wife’s retirement on her husband’s mental health among older adults in China

Previous studies indicate that the spillover effects of retirement on spousal health-related outcomes are likely to vary significantly by gender and social context. Using data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and adopting a regression discontinuity design, we examine the causal effects of a wife’s retirement on her husband’s mental health in urban China. In contrast to findings in Europe and Japan, we provide evidence showing improvements in husbands’ mental health after wives’ retirement. These results, along with previous studies, highlight the different roles retirement can play in spouses’ health in different cultural and institutional settings and call for studies of such effects on a case-by-case basis.