A “Leaner” Government? China's Anti-Corruption Campaign and the Health of Public Sector Employees

Health, as an important human capital, is fundamental for bureaucrats to properly perform duties so as to deliver the function of the state. Based on a nationally representative longitudinal survey and using a difference-in-differences identification strategy, we study whether and how the recent anti-corruption campaign in China shapes the health of public sector employees (PSEs). We find that the anticorruption campaign significantly decreased the BMI and overweight rates of PSEs. This finding survives several identification checks and a large battery of robustness checks based on alternative model specifications, estimation techniques, and sample selection criteria. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect is more pronounced among the PSEs who are more exposed to corruption ex ante. Further analyses demonstrate that the mechanisms underlying the BMI reduction effect include decreased frequency of alcohol consumption and eating out as well as increased time spent on exercise among PSEs post-campaign. Overall, this paper offers a novel political economic perspective to shed light on an unintended health consequence of China’s anti-corruption campaign