Household Wealth and Childhood Health in South Korea

With rising wealth inequality, this study investigates the association of household assets and debts with child health in South Korea, utilizing data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study. We employ fixed effects panel linear models to analyze disaggregated wealth components. The results demonstrate that real estate assets are positively associated with child health, whereas loans from financial institutions, private loans/credit card debt, and other debts are correlated negatively. Mediation analysis supports the Family Stress Models; debts operate through stressors such as food insecurity, economic hardship, and family conflict. Furthermore, the relationship between household wealth and child health varies significantly by the child’s age, gender, and parental education. These findings suggest that effective health policy must look beyond income to address wealth disparities and target specific mediating pathways to improve child health outcomes.