Population Dynamic Monitoring Research Articles

Urban public services and fertility intentions of internal migrants in China.

As China continues to implement its progressive fertility promotion policy, there has been a drastic decline in the fertility rate. Given that the migrant population constitutes more than a quarter of China's total population, enhancing the willingness of this demographic to have additional children through policy-guided urban public services is pivotal for optimizing China's population development strategy. This study analyzes the influence of urban public services on the reproductive intentions of the migrant population, utilizing data from 110,667 migrant families with one child, drawn from China's Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring data in 2016 and 2018. The data analysis reveals several key findings: (1) Urban public services, overall, exhibit a notable positive effect on the willingness of the migrant population to have more children, albeit with limitations and a declining trend. (2) Among urban public services, primary basic education significantly impacts the willingness of the migrant population to expand their families. (3) Large cities have created a 'reverse screening' effect on the migrant population, leading to differential access to public services. This scenario caters effectively to the high human capital migrant individuals while reducing accessibility to livelihood public services for the low human capital migrant population. This paper critically evaluates China's progressively adjusted fertility policy from the perspective of the migrant population. It underscores the necessity of establishing a comprehensive fertility support policy system across China.

The impacts of urban–rural integrated medical insurance on the quality of labor supply for migrant workers in China

BackgroundThe transformation from the quantity of labor supply to the quality of labor supply is an important measure to improve the self-development of migrant workers.MethodBased on the 2018 China Floating Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey data, this paper uses the 2SLS model based on instrumental variable estimation to analyze the impact of urban and rural integrated medical insurance on the quality of migrant workers' labor supply.ResultsThe study found that: First, urban and rural integrated medical insurance can significantly improve the quality of labor supply for migrant workers. Even with different instrumental variables and the use of propensity score matching for counterfactual inferences, the findings remain robust. Second, the impact of urban–rural integrated medical insurance on the quality of labor supply for migrant workers has nonlinear characteristics. At the low quantile, the impact of urban–rural integrated medical insurance on the quality of labor supply for migrant workers showed a downward trend, but with the increase of the quantile, the impact of urban and rural integrated medical insurance continued to increase, showing a U-shaped trend.ConclusionUrban–rural integrated medical insurance can not only directly reduce the labor time of migrant workers and ease the labor burden of migrant workers, but also indirectly improve the quality of labor supply for migrant workers through the intermediary role of promoting the availability of public services such as family contracted doctor services and health education.

Vaccination in the childhood and awareness of basic public health services program among internal migrants: a nationwide cross-sectional study

BackgroundVaccination is proved to be one of the most effective and efficient way to prevent illness and reduce health inequality. Studies about association between vaccination inequalities in the childhood and awareness of basic public health services program among internal migrants in China are lacking. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between migrants’ vaccination status between 0 and 6 years old and their awareness of the National Basic Public Health Services (BPHSs) project in China.MethodsWe included 10,013 respondents aged 15 years old or above of eight provinces from 2017 Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey in China, a nationwide cross-sectional study. Univariate and multivariable logistic regressions were used to assess vaccination inequalities and the awareness of public health information.ResultsOnly 64.8% migrants were vaccinated in their childhood, which is far below the goal of national requirement of 100% vaccination. This also indicated the vaccination inequalities among migrants. Female, the middle-aged, married or having a relationship, the highly educated and the healthy population had higher awareness of this project than others. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regressions showed greatly significant association between vaccination status and some vaccines. Specifically, after adding convariates, the results showed that there were significant associations between the vaccination rates of eight recommended vaccines in the childhood and their awareness of BPHSs project (all p values < 0.001), including HepB vaccine (OR: 1.28; 95%CI: 1.19, 1.37), HepA vaccine (OR: 1.27; 95%CI: 1.15, 1.41), FIn vaccine (OR: 1.28; 95%CI: 1.16, 1.45), JE vaccine (OR: 1.14; 95%CI: 1.04, 1.27), TIG vaccine (OR: 1.27; 95%CI: 1.05, 1.47), DTaP vaccine (OR: 1.30; 95%CI: 1.11–1.53), MPSV vaccine (OR: 1.26; 95%CI: 1.07–1.49), HF vaccine (OR: 1.32; 95%CI: 1.11, 1.53), except for RaB vaccine (OR: 1.07; 95%CI: 0.89, 1.53).ConclusionsThe vaccination inequalities exist among migrants. There is a strong relationship between the vaccination status in the childhood and the awareness rate of BPHSs project among migrants. From our findings we could know that the promotion of vaccination rates of the disadvantaged population such as the internal migrants or other minority population can help them increase the awareness of free public health services, which was proved to be beneficial for health equity and effectiveness and could promote public health in the future.

Signed Up with Family Doctors and Health Education among Internal Migrants in China: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Health education is one of the most effective and efficient ways to achieve the goal of universal health coverage and the sustainable development goals. The equity of access to health services (especially services from community healthcare centers) for internal migrants is an important issue of global concern. However, due to the registration system, long-term residence plan, education level, and other determinants, it is more difficult for internal migrants to enjoy equitable health education compared with local residents. At present, there is no research on signing up with family doctors mainly from community healthcare centers among internal migrants and their impact on access to health education services. In this nationwide cross-sectional study, we used the migrant population dynamic monitoring survey (MDMS) in 2018 to assess the disparities in signing up with a family doctor and its association with health education among internal migrants in China. Among the 151,892 participants, a total of 11.26% migrants had signed up with a family doctor and 81.37% internal migrants had received health education. There was a significant association between signing up with a family doctor and health education in the univariate model (aOR = 1.113; 95% CI: 1.095, 1.132) and the multivariate model (aOR = 1.107, 95% CI: 1.089, 1.126). Meanwhile, age (aORinteraction = 0.996, 95% CI: 0.994, 0.997), migration time (aORinteraction = 0.927, 95% CI: 0.907, 0.948), and migration range (aORinteraction = 0.994, 95% CI: 0.992, 0.997) also had an impact on the relationship between signing up with family doctors and health education. Due to the health education inequalities among internal migrants in China, we need to improve health education access and utilization of internal migrants. As signed up with family doctors was significantly associated with health education among migrants in China, we recommended that the government and healthcare facilities promote health education through family doctors. The number and professional ability of family doctors should also be improved especially in areas with weak healthcare service resources in the future.

Research on the Characteristics of the Population Flow Network of the Main Ethnic Minorities in Northwest China

In the context of the development of the western region and the new situation of population mobility, the role of the minority floating population, who bear the dual attributes of national culture and floating personnel, has become increasingly prominent. Based on the national floating population dynamic monitoring data, this paper examines the floating scale and network characteristics of the main ethnic minorities (Hui, Uyghur, and Tibetan) in Northwest China. The results show that there are commonalities and differences among the three main ethnic groups, and the commonality is manifested in the preference for inflows to provincial capital cities and ethnic autonomous regions, with typical economic orientation and homogenous source orientation.

More Rights but Less Gains: Relaxed Birth Control Policy and the Loss for Women

AbstractIn view of its aging population, China initiated in 2012 a relaxed birth control policy after a three‐decades‐long implementation of the restrictive one‐child policy. This paper examines how China's relaxed birth control policy leads to gender inequality. It specifically focuses on migrant workers because they account for a significant portion of the working group. Using the National Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey from 2014 to 2016, we found that China's two‐child pilot policy reduced female labor force participation by 1.4 percentage points. This negative effect was more pronounced for women with higher educational levels or working in the private sector because employers foresee greater risks of productivity decline. We demonstrated that the gender pay gap increased from RMB956 to RMB1,053 during this same period. Pinpointing these unintended consequences brought about by the relaxation of the one‐child policy helps provide a more complete picture of inequality and make sense of persistent relative poverty in Chinese society. To counteract gender discrimination, females are advised to work outside their home jurisdictions and take advantage of positive peer effects.

The effects of social participation on social integration.

With the fast expansion of urbanization, temporary migrants have become a large demographic in Chinese cities. Therefore, in order to enhance the social integration of the migrant population, scholars and policymakers have an urgency to investigate the influencing factors of the integration progress. Prior studies regarding social integration have neglected to examine this topic from the perspective of social participation. Empirical research is conducted based on the data of 15,997 migrants across eight cities in the 2014 wave of National Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (MDMS) in China. Hierarchical linear models were used to test the hypotheses regarding the impacts of formal social participation (FSP) and informal social participation (ISP) on social integration. Community type, neighbor composition, hometown pressure, withdrawal guarantee, and constraints of hukou were examined as moderators. FSP and ISP possess different features such as operating with distinct modes, providing different services. Members within the organizations also entail different rights and responsibilities, providing them with different types of social capital and psychological perceptions. Hence, this study strived to identify the effects of social participation behaviors on social integration from a social capital perspective. The results revealed that social participation is positively linked to social integration. We also distinguished between FSP and ISP of migrants to investigate the boundary effects of different types of social participation on social integration. The findings provide both theoretical and practical implications for scholars as well as policymakers on issues regarding the social integration of migrants.

Population dynamic monitoring of Phyllocnistis citrella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) using immature stages sampling and male moth pheromone-baited traps

Population dynamic monitoring of Phyllocnistis citrella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) using immature stages sampling and male moth pheromone-baited traps

Association between Social Integration, Social Exclusion, and Vaccination Behavior among Internal Migrants in China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Cross-sectional studies about the association between social integration, social exclusion, and vaccination behavior among internal migrants in China are lacking. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between the influenza vaccination behavior and social integration as well as social exclusion in China based on a cross-sectional study. We included 12,467 participants aged 15 years old or above from the 2017 Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (MDMS). We used univariate analysis and logistic regression models to access the association between social integration, exclusion status, and influenza vaccination rates. Results suggested that the association between social integration and the vaccination rate was significantly positive. Moving between different districts impact on people’s mental health and their health performance. Significant association between influenza vaccination behavior and education attainment, income status, health record, and awareness of basic public health services program was reported. Therefore, in order to reduce the incidence of influenza disease and increase the vaccination rate, policymakers and the public should promote social integration for internal migrants. Meanwhile, our finding also implies possible strategies to promote COVID-19 vaccination.

Air Pollution and Migration

This paper investigates the impact of air pollution on China’s internal migration using the Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey and Air Quality Index (AQI) data in 2014. Binary response models suggest that, on average, the probability of the willingness to leave will grow by approximately 0.1 if the average value of AQI is increased by 100 points. The migration effect of sever air pollution still holds using two-stage least squares estimation. In particular, compared to inter-province and intra-city within the same province, interviewees are more willingness to leave in intra-county with the same city. Besides, individuals from the cities in central and western regions, the listed key environmental protection (KEP) cities and cities not listed as resource-based (RB) cities have stronger willingness to leave than those from the cities in eastern region, Non-KEP cities and RB cities. Our results are robust to alternative measures of air pollution and models specification.

The influence of medical insurance on the use of basic public health services for the floating population: the mediating effect of social integration

BackgroundThe accessibility and fairness of the floating population’s access to basic public health services have an important impact on improving the health level of the whole population. Existing studies have shown that medical insurance and social integration have an impact on basic public health services, but there are few studies on the specific influence path between the three. Therefore, the research purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of medical insurance for urban and rural residents and basic medical insurance for urban employees on the utilization of basic public health services, and to analyze the mediating effect of social integration.MethodsThe data in this paper are derived from the 2017 China Mobile Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey data, which collects information on 31 provinces (regions, cities) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps mobile population 169,989 people, all of whom come from China’s relatively concentrated mobile population inflow areas (NHC FPSCo. 2021. Floating Population Service Center ofNHC). After deleting part of the missing data and replacing the mean value, 154,586 people were finally included in the analysis. The proportion is 90.9%. Based on the data of China’s floating population dynamic survey in 2017,we used Logistic regression method to analyze the effects of basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, basic medical insurance for urban employees and social integration on the utilization of basic public health services. Then we used the Bootstrap method of structural equation model to analyze the mediating effect of social integration.ResultsMedical insurance for urban and rural residents (β = 0.236;95%CI:1.195 ~ 1.342) has positive impact on health education, it (β = 0,190;95%CI:1.150 ~ 1.272) also has positive impact on the establishment of residents’ health records. Social integration (including political participation (β = 0.312;95%CI:1.324 ~ 1.410),activity participation (β = 0.724;95%CI:2.009 ~ 2.119), identity (β = 0.421; 95%CI:1.387 ~ 1.675))has positive impact on health education, it ((β = 0.312;95%CI:1.324 ~ 1.410), (β = 0.404;95%CI:1.463 ~ 1.534), (β = 0.282;95%CI:1.191 ~ 1.477)) also has positive impact on the establishment of residents’ health records. In addition, BMIUE (β = 0.169;95%CI:1.150 ~ 1.219) has an impact on the establishment of residents’ health records. The direct effect of medical insurance on the utilization of public health services was 0.092 (95%CI: 0.093 ~ 0.103), social integration was a partial mediator, the mediating effect was 0.127 (95%CI: 0.108 ~ 0.127), and the mediating effect size was 57.73%.ConclusionsMedical insurance can directly promote the floating population to use basic public health services, and can indirectly promote the improvement of public health service utilization level through social integration.

Acculturation, urban identity, and psychological well-being of rural-urban migrants in China.

Acculturation and identity are two significant determinants of the psychological well-being of migrants, but how they interactively affect psychological well-being is still underexplored. This study proposes an interactional perspective that links acculturation and urban identity to the psychological well-being of rural-urban migrants in China. Using data from the 2014 National Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey, the results of multilevel modeling indicate that both acculturation and urban identity significantly affect the psychological well-being of rural-urban migrants. Migrants who adopt the integration and assimilation strategy show better psychological well-being than those who adopt the separation and marginalization strategy. Rural-urban migrants who have a stronger sense of urban identity show better psychological well-being than those with a weaker sense of urban identity. Meanwhile, urban identity and acculturation also interactively affect the psychological well-being of rural-urban migrants. In particular, urban identity alleviates the negative pressure generated in the process of acculturation for those who adopt the acculturation strategy of separation. In addition, the effect of acculturation and urban identity on the psychological well-being of rural-urban migrants varies by migration distance. The research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that cultural identity and place identity interactively affect the psychological well-being of internal migrants.

Effect of self-employment on the sub-health status and chronic disease of rural migrants in China

BackgroundRural migrants usually suffer from major disease risks, but little attention had been paid toward the relationship between self-employment behavior and health status of rural migrants in China. Present study aims to explore the causal effect of self-employment behavior on rural migrants’ sub-health status and chronic disease. Two research questions are addressed: does self-employment status affect the sub-health status and chronic disease of rural migrants? What is potential mechanism that links self-employment behavior and health status among rural migrants in China?MethodsThe dataset from the 2017 National Migrants Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (NMPDMS-2017) was used to explore the causal effect. Logit regression was performed for the baseline estimation, and linear probability model with instrument variable estimation (IV-LPM) was applied to correct the endogeneity of self-employment. Additionally, logit regression was conducted to explore the transmission channel.ResultsSelf-employed migrants were more susceptible to sub-health status and chronic disease, even when correcting for endogeneity. Moreover, self-employed migrants were less likely to enroll in social health insurance than their wage-employed counterparts in urban destinations.ConclusionSelf-employed migrants were more likely to suffer from sub-health status and chronic disease; thus, their self-employment behavior exerted a harmful effect on rural migrants’ health. Social health insurance may serve as a transmission channel linking self-employment and rural migrants’ health status. That is, self-employed migrants were less prone to participate in an urban health insurance program, a situation which leaded to insufficient health service to maintain health.

Homeownership gap between ethnic minority and Han majority rural migrants in China: integration or stratification?

Housing attainment among rural migrants has received wide attention. However, studies on the homeownership gap between ethnic minority and Han majority rural migrants in China remain unexplored. Using data from National Migrants Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (NMPDMS), present study applies the logit regression and Blinder–Oaxaca–Fairlie decomposition method to address this. The results suggest that ethnic minority rural migrants are less likely to become homeowners than the Han majority, and that this homeownership gap may differ across various ethnic groups. Compared with the Han majority, the Manchu have a higher probability of owning a home, whereas other ethnic groups are often associated with a lower homeownership rate. Observable socio-economic characteristics play a minor role in this ethnic homeownership gap, whereas most of them are attributable to unobserved factors, such as discrimination.

Vaccination rates and determinants of nine recommended vaccines among migrants in China: a nationwide cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT In the past 70 years, in order to strengthen disease prevention and improve people’s health, China had introduced a series of vaccine policies. However, compared with the permanent population, studies on the vaccination situation of the migrants were lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the vaccination rates of nine recommended vaccines (HepB, HepA, FIn, DTaP, JE, Rab, MPSV, HF, and TIG vaccine) among migrants and related determinants. We used nationwide data from the 2017 Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (MDMS) to analyze the vaccination rates of migrants in terms of gender, age, marital status, household registration, education, health level, etc. The total vaccination rate of nine recommended vaccines was 64.8% (6488/10013). Education level and health level were positively correlated with vaccination rates, but age was negatively correlated with vaccination rates. Migrants from urban regions had a higher vaccination rate than those from rural regions. Among the nine recommended vaccines, HepB vaccination rate was the highest (59.08%), while HF vaccination rate was the lowest (4.08%). Combined with policies and demographic characteristics, the relationship between age, household registration, health level, education level and vaccination were studied. The findings suggested that more attention should be given to vaccination of migrants, and the monitoring of vaccination of such groups should be strengthened through information technology.

How Do City Size and Immigration Policies Affect Labor Mobility?

This paper uses the micro data from the National Health Commission’s “China floating population dynamic monitoring survey” (CMDS) project, and uses probit and Ivprobit models to analyze the impact of policy selection on Labor mobility Decision-making under different city sizes. The results show that: (1) the larger the city size, the more conducive to labor inflow, and the externality of human capital has a positive regulatory effect; (2) the impact of city size on Labor mobility has policy screening heterogeneity, the more obvious the policy threshold, the more conducive to high-level labor inflow. Making more reasonable labor policy, reducing the threshold of labor inflow, breaking the barriers of labor inflow, balancing the gap between high skilled labor force and low skilled labor force, weakening the crowding out effect of urban scale expansion and labor policy can effectively attract talents and promote urban development.

Cultural integration among non‐Han migrants in urban China: To what extent does intermarriage matter?

AbstractWith the rapid urbanization, a massive number of Han and non‐Han people have migrated into Chinese cities. However, the quite different backgrounds of non‐Han migrants may make their cultural integration much more difficult. Using data from the National Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (MDMS) in 2017, this study examines whether intermarried migrants have higher cultural integration in the destination municipality than their non‐intermarried counterparts, and explores its mechanisms. To account for the potential endogeneity problem, we use historical intermarriage ratio of the older cohorts in migrants’ home municipality as the instrumental variable of intermarriage. Results suggest that intermarriage has a positive effect on cultural integration of non‐Han migrants. Marrying Hans increases non‐Han migrants’ cultural integration by about 0.89 standard deviations. The mediating analyses show that social interaction is one potential mechanism but it merely explains 4% of the aggregate effect of intermarriage on cultural integration. We also find that the positive impact of intermarriage on cultural integration is driven by subsamples of female, highly educated, urban‐to‐urban, and inter‐province migrants. These findings have strong policy implications for non‐Han floating population administration in urban China.

Impacts of social networks on floating population wages under different marketization levels: empirical analysis of China’s 2016 national floating population dynamic monitoring data

ABSTRACT This paper establishes a measurement model to examine the impacts of social network heterogeneity on the wages of the floating population, and the different impacts under different levels of marketization. The main findings are: (1) Social network heterogeneity can increase the wages of the floating population, which is particularly significant for urban-urban migrants with non-agricultural registration; (2) The effect of social network heterogeneity on the wages of the floating population is due to the different levels of marketization of the destination market of inflows. The levels of marketization vary from place to place: in cities with low marketization levels, the homogeneous social networks can increase the wages more than the heterogeneous social networks. With marketization levels increase, social networks can increase the employment wages of migrants through three stages: the stage of the homogeneous social network is stronger than heterogeneous social network; the stage of no significant difference between homogeneous social network and heterogeneous social network; the stage of heterogeneous social network is stronger than homogeneous social network. In general, for the wages of rural-urban migrants with agricultural hukou, homogeneous social networks and marketization levels have a substitutional relationship, while heterogeneous social networks and marketization levels have a complementary relationship.

The Relationship Between Homeownership and the Utilization of Local Public Health Services Among Rural Migrants in China: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Rural–urban migrants frequently suffer from overrepresented health risks but have poor access to public health services. In China, homeownership status may play a vital role in obtaining local welfare. However, the relationship between homeownership and utilization of public health services has remained largely unexplored. This study aims to address the direct linkage between homeownership and utilization of local public health services among rural migrants in China.Methods: We applied the dataset from the 2017 National Migrants Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (NMPDMS-2017) to explore the direct relationship between homeownership and the utilization of local public health services. Logit regression was conducted to discuss the associations and to explore the interaction effect.Results: The logit estimations reveal that homeownership is positively related to the establishment of a health record and participation in health education. The interaction term of homeownership and household location and the interaction between homeownership and healthcare center location are related to the increased establishment of a health record. However, the interaction of homeownership and household location merely reveals significant correlations with the health education model.Conclusion: Homeownership is positively associated with the utilization of local public health services among rural migrants in China. Furthermore, homeowners living in urban residential communities and within the vicinity of the healthcare center are more likely to access public health services than those living in other locations.

Socioeconomic inequity in inpatient service utilization based on need among internal migrants: evidence from 2014 national cross-sectional survey in China

BackgroundProviding equal treatment for those who have the same need for healthcare, regardless of their socioeconomic and cultural background, has become a shared goal among policymakers who strive to improve healthcare. This study aims to identify the socioeconomic status (SES) inequities in inpatient service utilization based on need among migrants by using a nationally representative study in China.MethodsThe data used in this study was derived from the 2014 National Internal Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey collected by the National Health Commission of China. The sampling frame for this study was taken using the stratified multistage random sampling method. All provincial urban belt and key cities were stratified, and 119 strata were finally determined. We used logistic regression method and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition and calculated the concentration index to measure inequities of SES in inpatient service utilization based on need. Sample weights provided in the survey were applied in all the analysis and all standard errors in this study were clustered at the strata level.ResultsOf the total internal migrants, 18.75% unmet the inpatient service need. Results showed that inpatient service utilization concentrated among high-SES migrants (Concentration Index: 0.036, p < 0.001) and the decomposition results suggested that about 44.16% of the total SES gap in inpatient service utilization could be attributed to the gradient effect. After adjusting for other confounding variables, those had high school degree and university degree were more likely to meet the inpatient services need, and the OR values were 1.48 (95% CI 1.07, 2.03, p = 0.017) and 2.04 (95% CI 1.45, 2.88, p = 0.001), respectively. The OR values for Quartile 3 and Quartile 4 income groups was 1.28 (95% CI 1.01, 1.62, p = 0.044) and 1.37 (95% CI 1.02, 1.83, p = 0.035), respectively.ConclusionThis study observed an inequity in inpatient service utilization where the utilization concentrates among high SES migrants. It is important for policy makers to be aware of them and more intervention should be conducted.