Influence of migrants’ health status on their perceived acceptance in receiving cities: Moderating role of hukou thresholds and environmental amenities

Abstract

The perceived acceptance of migrants in receiving cities is inextricably tied to their health status. However, existing research on migrant health focuses on individual self-assessments, and few studies have considered the accessibility of medical support in the city as part of the analytical framework. To address a research gap, we examine the influence of migrants' health status and medical support on their perceived acceptance and analyse the moderating role and potential mechanisms of amenities. The findings show that the health of migrant workers significantly affects their perceived acceptance. Holding other conditions constant, each unit increase in health status is associated with a 0.1706 unit increase in perceived acceptance. Each unit of improvement in medical support is associated with a 0.0461 unit increase in perceived acceptance. This result remains valid after various robustness checks by changing the dependent variable and conducting group regressions. Our analyses further reveal that urban hukou threshold and environmental amenities largely moderated the effects of medical support and health status on perceived acceptance. Mechanism results indicate that hukou restrictions on access to resources limit migrants’ opportunities to improve their medical support in urban areas, thereby exposing them to greater health risks. Additionally, environmental amenities play an additional positive role in improving medical support by improving environmental quality. The study suggests that achieving health equity promotes inclusive growth and long-term sustainability in urban areas.