The Impact of Health Insurance Policy on the Fertility Intention of Rural Floating Population in China: Empirical Evidence from Cross-Sectional Data

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.

How does social integration work when older migrants obtain health services from community? Evidence from national database in China

Background

The roles of community are often overlooked when studying the older migrants' health issues, and more importantly, the mediating effect of social integration on the health of older migrants were rarely investigated empirically.

Methods

This study developed comprehensive index to explore this relationship. With data from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, the study first examined the potential linkage between community-based health services and the health of older migrants. Ordered logit regressions was carried to investigate whether the self-rated health of older migrants is related to health education and health records provided by community, then the Causal Stepwise Regression and bootstrap method was used to looked into the potential mediation effect.

Results

The findings showed that older migrants with more community-based health education had higher self-rated health (β = 0.038, SE = 0.009, p < 0.001). However, the community-based health records were not associated with older migrants' health. Moreover, higher levels of social integration were associated with community health education (β = 0.142, SE = 0.014, p < 0.001), and social integration was positively associated with older migrants' health (β = 0.039, SE = 0.002, p = 0.024), indicating the mediation role of social integration.

Conclusion

The vital role of community-based health education in improving the health of older migrants was found, and social integration plays a mediating role.

RESIDENTIAL SPATIAL DIFFERENTIATION AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL IN HANGZHOU, CHINA

Residential spatial differentiation is an important social issue for every large city to explore. The “subcultural” clusters formed by the subjective choices of a city’s residents divide the living spaces of the city and create residential differentiation. A study of this phenomenon would help to facilitate the allocation of urban resources and the formulation of relevant development strategies. In recent years, Hangzhou, one of the major developed cities in China, has seen a gradual increase in the proportion of its non-local population. Employing principal component analysis and K-means clustering, this study investigated the city’s spatial differentiation of living spaces at the community level and identified the social clustering areas. The Shannon-Wiener index and the index of dissimilarity were used to examine the degree of residential segregation in each administrative district. The results showed that the functional distinctions among the districts of Hangzhou were pronounced and had certain degrees of class solidification. A certain spatial coupling was observed between residential differentiation and housing prices. More reasonable allocations of social resources would help to ameliorate the negative effects caused by the spatial differentiation of living spaces.