The effect of health on urban-settlement intention of rural-urban migrants in China

Abstract

A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords:Physical health Mental health Urban-settlement intention Rural-urban migrant China A B S T R A C T Previous studies have not paid enough attention to the effect of health on urban-settlement intention of ruralurban migrants in China. Using survey data from the Rural Urban Migration in China project, this article examines how self-rated physical and mental health influence rural-urban migrants' intention to settle down in cities. First, the results show that both self-rated physical and mental health are significant factors influencing the migrants' intention to permanently move to cities. Second, the effect of physical health on rural-urban migrants' intentions to permanently reside in cities can be moderated by their length of urban residence. Third, the impact of health on rural-urban migrants' urban-settlement intention shows no generational differences. According to the research findings, this paper discusses how urban-settlement intention of rural-urban migrants based on health selection might impair urbanization, exacerbate health disparity between the rural and urban areas, and aggravate the burden on healthcare system in rural areas of China in the long run.

Settlement intention of migrants in the Yangtze River Delta, China: The importance of city‐scale contextual effects

“…Settlement intention is regarded as a comprehensive assessment of the quality of life in a place (Xie, Wang, Chen, & Ritakallio, ). Economists in Western countries have traditionally tended to regard migration as an individual's pursuit of utility maximisation, especially expanding economic prospects.…”

“…Settlement intention is regarded as a comprehensive assessment of the quality of life in a place (Xie, Wang, Chen, & Ritakallio, 2017).…”

Migration and health in China: Linking sending and host societies

“…In terms of return migration, the “salmon” hypothesis posits that compared with healthy migrants, unhealthy migrants are more likely to be eliminated from the migratory cycle to return home (Lu & Qin, ; Thomson et al, ; Wallace & Kulu, ). As many rural Chinese migrate to urban areas to work as manual labourers (Liang, ), migrants who encounter health problems not only experience decreased productivity and earnings, they are also challenged by costly health care due to a lack of access to urban welfare (Lu & Qin, ; Xie, Wang, Chen, & Ritakallio, ). This, alongside a lack of family support, may motivate less healthy migrants to return to rural areas.…”

“…Identifying the existence and extent of selective out‐migration and return migration is crucial as the “export” of healthy population from rural peripheries to urban centres (i.e., the “healthy migrant” hypothesis) and the “elimination” of less healthy rural migrants from urban back to rural areas (i.e., the “salmon” hypothesis) may exacerbate China's rural–urban health inequalities (Hu et al, ; Wang & Zhou, ). However, only a few studies have focused on the selective nature of China's internal migration and its implications for population health, yielding mixed findings (Chen, ; Lu & Qin, ; Tong & Piotrowski, ; Xie et al, ). Although Lu and Qin () and Chen () found that rural residents with better self‐rated health are more likely to migrate, Tong and Piotrowski () did not find statistically significant evidence in support of selective out‐migration.…”

“…Migration also entails disruption of social connections, and the resultant sense of loneliness, combined with heightened stress of living within resource constraints in urban areas, may undermine migrants' emotional and mental well‐being (Hu & Coulter, ; Li & Rose, ). Meanwhile, the sociocultural discrimination faced by migrants in host societies could add to their mental stress (Xie et al, ). Furthermore, the psychological dissonance between high expectations of urban lives and realities of social marginalisation and segregation could generate acculturative stress (Zhang, Li, Fang, & Xiong, ).…”