Analysis of the Impact of Public Services on Residents’ Health: A Spatial Econometric Analysis of Chinese Provinces

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the mechanism between public services and residents’ health, focusing on the role of spatial geographical factors.Methods: Leveraging a comprehensive panel dataset encompassing 30 mainland Chinese provinces from 2007 to 2019, this study engineered a spatial Durbin model furnished with dual fixed effects through the application of the Lagrange multiplier, Hausman, and likelihood ratio tests. The primary objective was to delve into the repercussions of varying public service levels on residents’ health outcomes.Results: The empirical findings reveal a palpable spatial autocorrelation between residents’ health outcomes and the public services levels dispensed across Chinese provinces. Intriguingly, an elevation in the public service level in a given province not only ameliorates its residents’ health outcomes but also triggers a spatial spillover effect, thereby positively influencing residents’ health in neighboring provinces. The rigorous endogeneity and robustness checks affirm the reliability of the principal outcomes.Conclusion: Due to the increase in social uncertainty, all regions should break free of the administrative monopoly, enhance regional integration and development, and improve residents’ health status by clustering public service supply.

The Impact of Social Media on Users’ Self-Efficacy and Loneliness: An Analysis of the Mediating Mechanism of Social Support

“…The spatial dimension is also an important perspective for scholars explaining how social media increases loneliness. 16 Online communication not only replaces the time spent on traditional social behaviors but also replaces the spatial aspect of offline socialization. The social support provided by virtual network systems reduces users’ loneliness, but this benefit cannot restrain the reality of spatial loneliness.…”