China Labor-force Dynamics Survey Research Articles

Multilevel medical insurance mitigate health cost inequality due to air pollution: Evidence from China

BackgroundAir pollution affects residents’ health to varying extents according to differences in socioeconomic status. However, there has been a lack of research on whether air pollution contributes to unfair health costs.MethodsIn this research, data from the China Labour Force Dynamics Survey are matched with data on PM2.5 average concentration and precipitation, and the influence of air pollution on the health expenditures of residents is analysed with econometric methods involving a two-part model, instrument variables and moderating effects.ResultsThe findings reveal that air pollution significantly impacts Chinese residents’ health costs and leads to low-income people face health inequality. Specifcally, the empirical evidence shows that air pollution has no significant influence on the probability of residents’ health costs (β = 0.021, p = 0.770) but that it increases the amount of residents’ total outpatient costs (β = 0.379, p < 0.006), reimbursed outpatient cost (β = 0.453, p < 0.044) and out-of-pocket outpatient cost (β = 0.362, p < 0.048). The heterogeneity analysis of income indicates that low-income people face inequality due to health cost inflation caused by air pollution, their total and out-of-pocket outpatient cost significantly increase with PM2.5 (β = 0.417, p = 0.013; β = 0.491, p = 0.020). Further analysis reveals that social basic medical insurance does not have a remarkable positive moderating effect on the influence of air pollution on individual health inflation (β = 0.021, p = 0.292), but supplementary medical insurance for employees could reduce the effect of air pollution on low-income residents’ reimbursed and out-of-pocket outpatient cost (β=-1.331, p = 0.096; β=-2.211, p = 0.014).ConclusionThe study concludes that air pollution increases the amount of Chinese residents’ outpatient cost and has no significant effect on the incidence of outpatient cost. However, air pollution has more significant impact on the low-income residents than the high-income residents, which indicates that air pollution leads to the inequity of medical cost. Additionally, the supplementary medical insurance reduces the inequity of medical cost caused by air pollution for the low-income employees.

Overtime work and Chinese workers' physical and mental health: The mediating role of social support and work value awareness.

China was once called the world's factory. Chinese workers had long weekly working hours. However, the empirical results of the relationship between overtime work and workers' health are mixed and remain inconclusive. This study aimed to investigate how overtime work influenced workers' physical and mental health and the role of lifestyles, social support, and work value awareness. Data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016 (N = 14,205) was used. The instrumental variable approach was employed to overcome the endogeneity problem between overtime work and workers' health. The bootstrapping method was conducted to elicit the role of lifestyles, social support, and work value awareness. The results indicated that overtime work significantly and negatively influenced Chinese workers' physical and mental health. The results of the bootstrapping suggested that workers' social support and work value awareness partially mediated the relationship between overtime work and their physical and mental health. However, the mediating role of lifestyles was insignificant. Through using big data with national representativeness, this study suggests that overtime work negatively influences Chinese workers' physical and mental health. Our findings provide policy implications for improving workers' health rights and well-being in emerging economies.

Can provincial-pooling of urban and rural resident basic medical insurance improve the health performance of migrant population?

Enhancing the pooling level of medical insurance is an inevitable requirement to strengthen the mutual assistance capability of funds and achieving national health. In China, with the continuous expansion of the migrant population seeking medical treatment in other regions, the role of provincial-pooling of basic medical insurance is becoming increasingly prominent. While there is limited research on the impact and mechanism of provincial-pooling of basic medical insurance on the health of migrant population. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of provincial-pooling of basic medical insurance on the health performance of migrant population and analyze the mediating role of social integration. Using data of three waves (2014, 2016 and 2018) of the China Labor force Dynamics Survey, this study focuses on a sample of migrant population enrolled in Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance and employs the estimation methods of time-varying difference-in-difference and mediating effect model. The results of time-varying difference-in-difference show that provincial-pooling of basic medical insurance improves the health performance of migrant population by 9.6% (p < 0.05), and the event study method and placebo test all indicate that the research results are robust. The mediating effect analysis demonstrates that the provincial-pooling of basic medical insurance enhances health performance by fostering the subjective and objective social integration, and neighbourhood assistance, social equity, life happiness and trust in the majority are specific intermediary channels. The results of heterogeneity analysis indicates that provincial-pooling of basic medical insurance is more effective in improving the health performance of high-income (β = −0.090; P < 0.05), new-generation (β = −0.116; P < 0.1) and highly-educated (β = 0.130; p < 0.05) migrant population. Our results call for accelerating the promotion of provincial-pooling of basic medical insurance to improve health performance of migrant population.

Who is ‘stuck’ in the past? The impact of the 1998 great flood on the adoption of agricultural technology in China

ABSTRACT This study estimates the impact of the 1998 Great Flood on the adoption of agricultural technology in China and its mechanism using a cross-sectional dataset collected from the ERA5-Land, the China Labor Force Dynamic Survey, the China Rural Statistical Yearbook, and the China Population Census. The analysis reveals an inverted U-shaped correlation between farmers’ exposure to the flood event and their propensity to embrace technological advancements in agriculture. Farmers who experienced medium flood exposure tend to be risk lovers and exhibit a 4.9% higher likelihood of adopting agricultural technology compared to their counterparts who did not experience the flood. On the contrary, farmers who faced extreme flood exposure tend to be risk averse and exhibit an 11.9% diminished likelihood of adopting agricultural technology compared to those who remained unscathed by the flood.

Being a householder speaking a foreign language: Foreign language proficiency and the internet technology adoption of the household

This study employs microdata from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey to investigate the influence of foreign language proficiency on the adoption of Internet technology within households. The results indicate that householders who are proficient in foreign languages are more likely to adopt Internet technology at home than those who lack such knowledge. The greater the foreign language proficiency of the householder, the greater the likelihood of Internet technology adoption. Further analyses indicate that the positive effect of foreign language proficiency on the Internet technology adoption of the household in China is more pronounced in male-headed households, in urban areas, and in eastern and central regions. This study also identifies three potential mechanisms by which foreign language proficiency influences household Internet technology adoption: the information effect, the trust effect, and the income effect. These findings contribute to the understanding of the role of language proficiency in technology adoption at the household level, offer new insights into the positive outcomes of foreign language education in China, and encourage measures to reduce digital inequality among households through language learning.

Family and job microsystems as mediators between social integration and depression among rural-to-urban migrant workers in China: does having sons make a difference?

Rural-to-urban migrant workers are a vulnerable group at risk of developing depression. Based on the social-ecological systems theory, this study investigates the impact of the lack of social integration on depression, considering the mediating roles of migrant workers' microsystems (family happiness and job burnout). Additionally, the study explores whether having sons influences these associations. The sample of 4,618 rural-to-urban migrant workers was obtained from the 2018 wave of the China Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS). All the measures in the survey exhibited good reliability, including the Center for Epidemiological Research Depression Scale (CES-D), family happiness, job burnout, and social integration. The data were primarily analyzed using a structural equation model. Social integration had a direct impact on depression among migrant workers. Additionally, it indirectly affected depression through the mediating roles of family happiness not job burnout. The moderating effect of having sons mainly occurred on the path from social integration to family happiness. The cross-sectional design impeded the ability to draw causal inferences. This finding highlights the potential benefits of social integration and family happiness in promoting early prevention of depression among migrant workers. It indicates that the inclination toward having sons among migrant workers continues to impact their mental health.

Money for operator: the impact of linked agricultural subsidy on incomes

The reform of China’s “three subsidies” has shifted the method of subsidization from payment based on the contracted area to payment based on the actual operational area. Within this context, studying the income-generating impact of the “three subsidies” holds significant practical relevance. Using data from the 2018 China Labor-force Dynamic Survey, this paper employs basic estimation, mediating effect, and moderating effect models to analyze the heterogeneity of agricultural subsidies’ impact on rural household income, the mediating effect of agricultural mechanization, and the moderating effect of operation scale. Our findings indicate that agricultural subsidies, known as the “three subsidies”, have increased total rural household income and agricultural income while decreasing wage income. However, they have shown no significant impact on business income. Notably, agricultural subsidies have significantly elevated the income of food-producing households, with agricultural mechanization partially mediating this effect. Operation scale positively moderates the impact of agricultural subsidies on rural household income and agricultural mechanization. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that agricultural subsidies have a more significant impact on rural household income among agricultural producers in the eastern region.

Gospel or curse: the impact of religious beliefs on energy poverty in rural China

Energy poverty, especially in rural areas, has become a central focus of scholarly and policy discussions. However, there is a significant gap in understanding the impact of religious beliefs on this phenomenon. This paper aims to fill this gap by utilizing household survey data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) spanning three waves (2012, 2014, and 2016) to examine the causal link between religious beliefs and energy poverty, covering clean energy accessibility and affordability among rural residents. Our analysis unveils a substantial positive influence of religious beliefs on the likelihood of experiencing energy poverty, especially concerning accessibility and affordability. This effect is notably pronounced among males, ethnic minorities, and low-income groups. Low income and education are recognized as pivotal mediating factors through which religious beliefs contribute to energy poverty. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for formulating strategies to mitigate energy poverty in rural China, with a particular emphasis on the role of religious beliefs.

Entrepreneurial failure influences the health of Chinese farmers: Evidence from the data of China labor-force dynamic survey

High failure rate is a primary characteristic of current farmer entrepreneurial activities in China. We examined the impact of entrepreneurial failure on the health of Chinese farmers based on the data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS). We found that entrepreneurial failure significantly depresses the health of Chinese farmers. Specifically, the farmers with entrepreneurial failure experience are more likely to have low self-reported levels of psychological and physical health, and the probability of experiencing severe injury and illness is elevated by 4.6 %. Mechanism analysis shows that entrepreneurial failure depresses the health of Chinese farmers through weakening informal social support and increasing the probability of overwork. Furthermore, these effects are more significant in the older generation of farmers who were born before 1980 and the farmers striving to make a living.

The impact of rural living environment improvement programs on the subjective well-being of rural residents in China

Increasing people’s subjective well-being (SWB) remains a critical challenge for all countries. However, few studies have been dedicated to examining the influence of environmental governance programs on SWB, especially in developing and non-democratic societies. This paper aims to fill this void by taking the Rural Living Environment Improvement (RLEI) program in China—the largest rural living environment governance program in history, as an example to understand the role of environmental governance programs in SWB in the world’s biggest developing and non-democratic country. Based on 3747 individual samples from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey database, we found that RLEI can significantly improve rural residents’ SWB. This effect remains significant after using the propensity score matching method and the instrumental variable approach to address potential selection bias and endogenous problems. The indirect analysis shows that RLEI can increase rural residents’ SWB mainly through improving their income, consumption expenditure, and health. Compared with rural sewage and livestock manure RLEI programs, rural waste RLEI program has a greater enhanced impact on rural residents’ SWB. The monetary value of RLEI based on the life satisfaction approach shows that the resulting improvement in rural residents’ SWB created by RLEI is almost equivalent to the effect of household income. While the monetary value of rural sewage, livestock manure, and rural waste RLEI program is equivalent to 1.2, 3.67, and 1.1 times the effect of household income. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that RLEI has a greater positive impact on SWB for junior and old-aged, low-educated, Midwestern and Northeastern, and working rural residents.

Sense of Freedom in the Golden Years: Disentangling the Complex Ties Between Community Safety Concerns and Depressive Symptoms in Later Life.

This study investigates the "Negative Spillover Effect"-a conceptual framework that highlights the correlation between older adults' community safety concerns and depressive symptoms. It explores the moderating influence of the sense of freedom in this relationship. Through the analysis of data from 3408 participants in the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey, employing a two-stage least squares regression approach, the study uncovers the intricate role of the sense of freedom in influencing the depressive symptoms of older adults based on their community safety concerns. The sense of freedom serves as a protective factor against the adverse psychological effects of community safety concerns when they are strong. However, this protective role diminishes when coupled with a low perception of the fair match between labor input and living condition rewards. The study underscores the importance of addressing and mitigating the negative spillover effect to foster sustainable and equitable community development. Reducing these adverse effects is essential for enhancing the mental health and well-being of the older demographic.

Childhood migration experience and adult health: evidence from China’s rural migrants

BackgroundPlace of residence plays an influential role in shaping individual development, and studies have established links between Childhood migration experience (CME) and health outcomes through maturity. Over the past three decades, China has undergone one of the largest rural-to-urban migrations, however, little is known about the effect of CME on rural migrants’ adult health in China.MethodsData from 7035 members of the 2016 and 2018 China Labor-force Dynamics Survey were analyzed. CME was measured by whether the place of residence and place of birth changed at the age of 14 years. Three measures of health (self-assessed health, BMI, and mental health scale) were obtained. Causal inferential analysis was performed, using the Probit model, the OLS model and the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method, to explore the impact of CME on the adult health of rural migrants.ResultsOverall, compared to individuals who did not migrate in childhood, the probability of reporting “very unhealthy”, “rather unhealthy”, and “fair” in the self-assessed health of the rural migrants with CME decreased by 0.23%, 1.55%, and 5.53%, the probability of reporting “healthy” and “very healthy” increased by 1.94% and 5.38%, the probability of BMI within the normal range was higher by 7.32%, and the mental health test scores were 0.2591 points higher significantly. Furthermore, in comparison with childhood non-migration, both cross-county and cross-city migration promoted the health status of rural migrants, but the positive effect of cross-province migration was not significant; from the gender perspective, CME could more dramatically improve rural women’s adult health than men, especially in mental health.ConclusionCME can significantly improve adult health, including physical and mental health, and the positive effect is more obvious among women, helping to reduce gender differences in health. For the migration distance, attention can be focused on the long-distance migrating individuals, who should get more support.

From rural to urban: Clan, urbanization and trust

This study explores the persistence and transformation of culture amidst a critical economic process in China today, known as urbanization. Based on the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), we find that the clan, a central mechanism used to sustain cooperation in China's rural society, continues to impact trust traits amidst the ongoing urbanization process. Respondents from regions with a history of high clan density report higher levels of limited trust toward families, lower levels of generalized trust toward strangers, and a significant trust gap between these two. Nevertheless, the urbanization process is gradually mitigating the effect of clans on trust traits by driving the population from villages, providing public services to citizens, and promoting cooperation among strangers.

Does internet use improve employment?--Empirical evidence from China.

Achieving comprehensive and high-quality employment is essential to achieving new levels of people's well-being. The advancement of Internet technology not only affect the massiveness of employment, but also the quality of that. On the basis of constructing an employment quality evaluation index system, this article uses CLDS (China Labor-force Dynamics Survey) data to explore the impact of Internet use on the employment quality of workers and its underlying mechanisms. The results reveal that Internet use has a significant positive impact on improving the employment quality of workers. As the quantile of employment quality increases, internet use has a greater impact on workers with a lower employment quality quantile. In addition, the use of Internet has a more significant promoting effect on the employment quality of rural and female workers. From the perspective of mechanism, Internet use can increase workers' social capital and influence their employment quality through the accumulation of social capital. Based on this, countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from the aspects of increasing investment and construction of Internet infrastructure, further perfecting the reform of household registration system, promoting human capital investment and social capital construction.

Adding insult to injury: Living in a remote location increases the burden of gift expenses among the rural poor in China

AbstractBased on data from the China Labor‐force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), our study examines how geographical remoteness impacts farmers' gift expense burden. Farmers' gift expense burden increases significantly as the distance from the village to the county‐level city increases. Two key mechanisms for more remote rural areas exacerbate farmers' gift expense burden: stronger reliance on neighbours and relatives for assistance and more concentrated authority among local officials. Our research offers new perspectives on disparities in gift expense burden among farmers in developing countries and suggests viable avenues to alleviate their financial strain.

The Role of Internet and Social Interactions in Advancing Waste Sorting Behaviors in Rural Communities

Addressing the global challenge of sustainable waste management, this research investigates the influence of social dynamics and digital connectivity on rural residents’ willingness to adopt waste classification practices, essential for sustainable environmental management. Through a comprehensive analysis of 5413 rural participants surveyed in the China Labor-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS), this study employs a novel mixed-methods approach. It integrates quantitative analysis with the Manski social interaction framework and a Recursive Bivariate Probit model to explore the intricate interplay between community interactions, internet access, and environmental behaviors. Our methodology stands out for its unique combination of social theory and econometric modeling to address a pressing environmental issue. Results highlight a significant effect of mobile internet use and social interactions within communities on enhancing willingness towards waste classification. Notably, digital connectivity emerges as a key facilitator of environmental engagement, mediating social influences, and fostering a collective approach to waste management. Considering these insights, we propose targeted policy interventions that blend digital strategies with traditional community engagement efforts. Recommendations include crafting digital literacy programs and leveraging social media to bolster community-centric environmental governance. By harnessing the synergistic potential of digital tools and social dynamics, these strategies aim to elevate the effectiveness of waste classification initiatives in rural China, offering a scalable model for environmental sustainability.

How Climate Change Affects Labor Mobility: Empirical Evidence from the CLDS

ABSTRACT Regional climate conditions have become a key factor that is exacerbating the process of China’s labor spatial mobility. In contrast to previous research based on mixed cross-sectional data and floating population sample selection, this study uses unbalanced panel data from the China Labor Force Dynamic Survey (CLDS) from 2014 to 2018 and a regional temperature dataset to examine the impact of climate change on inter-provincial and municipal labor mobility outflow from the perspective of local household registration, and further investigates regional reallocation and stock effects of labor related to climate change. The findings reveal four relevant results. First, after eliminating the influence bias of individual fixed effects, the labor force outflow effect of climate change across regions is significantly smaller than that found in previous research, at only one-fifth of existing research conclusions. Second, the mechanism analysis shows that temperature can affect labor mobility through individual health, happiness and government environmental regulation. Third, the impact of climate change on labor mobility has significant heterogeneity. Labor flows from underdeveloped regions to developed areas and from the central and western regions to the eastern region, and climate change has a greater impact for workers with higher education levels. In addition, climate change has a greater impact on workers with higher family incomes and family age structures. Fourth, the impact of climate change on labor mobility exhibits temperature-based threshold effects. This study provides a new perspective for understanding the impact of climate change on labor mobility, offering valuable policy support for guiding the rational flow of labor and urban managers’ formulation of strategically targeted measures.

Impact of the digital economy on public security: evidence from rural China

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effects of the digital economy on rural public security using data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey and applies an instrumental variable approach to solve the endogeneity problem. The results reveal that the digital economy positively impact rural public security. According to a mechanism test, the digital economy has a significant positive impact on rural public security through increased nonagricultural employment and household income. Hence, this study argues that the digital economy has a significant influence on advancing public security.

Analysing how government-provided vocational skills training affects migrant workers’ income: A study based on the Livelihood Capital Theory

This study explores the internal logic and influence mechanism of government-provided vocational skills training (GPVST) and migrant workers’ income level (IL) and income satisfaction (IS) using propensity score matching with difference-in-differences (PSM–DID), and it utilizes panel data collected by China Labor-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS) in 2016 and 2018. The study indicates that participation in GPVST positively affects the IL and IS of migrant workers; further analysis reveals that GPVST is more capable of raising the foreign migrant workers’ IL, and that the positive effect on the IS pertaining to the older generation of migrant workers and local migrant workers is more significant. Mechanism analysis reveals that GPVST can indirectly enhance the IL and IS of migrant workers by increasing the skill-enhancing effect exerted by human capital, information-interaction effect exerted by social capital, and trickle-down effect exerted by financial capital; however, generally, the indirect effect of livelihood capital is stronger in the impact of GPVST on the IL, whereas the direct effect is stronger in the impact of GPVST on IS. The findings herein exhibit crucial practical value for strengthening GPVST and enhancing the livelihood capital and income of migrant workers.

Flush toilet use and its impact on health and non‐health expenditures

AbstractThis study analysed the effects of flush toilet use on health and non‐health expenditures incurred by rural Chinese. The instrumental‐variable‐based Tobit and endogenous treatment regression models were used to analyse the 2016 China Labour Force Dynamics Survey data while addressing the selection bias inherent in flush toilet use. The results showed that by improving rural residents' physical and mental health, flush toilet use reduced per capita health expenditure while increasing non‐health expenditure. Furthermore, using flush toilets had positive spillover effects, reducing the health expenditures of even those who did not use them. Factors affecting flush toilet use were also analysed.