Abstract：Health is fundamental for bureaucrats to properly perform duties so as to deliver the function of the state. Based on a nationally representative lon-gitudinal survey and using a difference-in-differences identification strategy, we study whether and how the recent anti-corruption campaign in China shapes t-he body weight and health of public sector employees (PSEs). We find that the anti-corruption campaign significantly decreased the BMI and overweight rates of PSEs. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect is more pronounced among the PSEs who are more exposed to corruption exante. 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. Finally, we find the reduced B-MI among PSEs also leads to better self-assessed health and has broader impli-cations for bureaucratic efficiency and governance quality. Overall, this study offers a novel political economic perspective to shed light on an unintended health consequence of China's anti-corruption campaign.

Keywords：Anti-corruption；Health；Public sector employees； BMI；Overweight

研究成果：A “leaner” government? The effect of China's anti-corruption campaign on the body weight and health  of public sector employees

发表期刊：Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

论文链接：https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268123004043?via%3Dihub=