Health disparity among older adults in Urban China: Does labor migration Matter?

IF 4.9 2区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Social Science & Medicine Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117925

Zehan Pan , Feiyang Yang , Nan Yang , Riming Nie

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

China has seen a surge in labor migration and widening regional health disparities among urban older residents since the late 1990. However, the relationship between labor migration and these disparities remains unknown. This study employs the shift-share instrument method to explore the association between labor migration and the self-rated health among urban older residents with the microdata from the 1% National Population Sample Survey (2005 and 2015) and provincial panel data (2010–2020). The results indicate that regions with higher net labor inflow exhibit improved average health levels and reduced health inequality among local older adults with varying socioeconomic statuses. Between 2010 and 2015, labor migration led to a 9.21 percentage point increase in the regional disparity of self-rated “healthy” probabilities among urban older residents. The key mechanism underlying these effects is the positive effects of labor migration on the wellbeing of certain group of urban older residents. The findings of this study suggest that social benefits access inequality between migrants and non-migrants, and the health disparities among urban older adults underscore broader structural inequality in China.

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来源期刊

Social Science & Medicine PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

5.60%

发文量

762

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Social Science & Medicine provides an international and interdisciplinary forum for the dissemination of social science research on health. We publish original research articles (both empirical and theoretical), reviews, position papers and commentaries on health issues, to inform current research, policy and practice in all areas of common interest to social scientists, health practitioners, and policy makers. The journal publishes material relevant to any aspect of health from a wide range of social science disciplines (anthropology, economics, epidemiology, geography, policy, psychology, and sociology), and material relevant to the social sciences from any of the professions concerned with physical and mental health, health care, clinical practice, and health policy and organization. We encourage material which is of general interest to an international readership.