The impact of equalisation of basic public health and medical services on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants in China

Using China Migrants Dynamic Survey Project data from 2012 to 2018, this paper evaluates the causal impact of equalisation of basic public health and medical services on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants by the difference-in-differences approach. The results reveal that the equalisation of basic public health and medical services has a negative impact on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants of 4%. Male, middle-aged, and unmarried internal migrants have a much stronger negative response, in terms of long-term urban settlement intentions, to changes in basic public health and medical services. Moreover, more recent internal migrants, those in first-tier cities and those in cities in eastern regions also have a much stronger negative response. Mechanism checks imply that the negative impact on the long-term urban settlement intentions of internal migrants is caused by social integration decline after implementation of equalisation of basic public health and medical services.