Volume 43 - Article 49 | Pages 1429–1460
Estimating rural–urban disparities in self-rated health in China: Impact of choice of urban definition
Date received: | 05 Sep 2018 |
Date published: | 03 Dec 2020 |
Word count: | 6738 |
Keywords: | China, self-rated health, urban-rural differences |
DOI: | 10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.49 |
Additional files: | 43-49_Supplement B. Table to accompany Figure 3 (Excel file, 10 kB) |
43-49_Supplementary Material A Anchoring Vignettes (pdf file, 8 kB) | |
Abstract
Objective: We use the 2014 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), which includes anchoring vignettes, to provide an up-to-date assessment of rural–urban health disparities as measured by self-rated health (SRH) in China. Our analysis is based on multiple definitions (hukou and the two different residence-based definitions) of rural–urban and migration status; previous research was inconclusive due to the use of different definitions and concerns about status-based differential health expectations (reporting heterogeneity).
Results: We find a nonlinear difference between rural and urban Chinese in how they self-assess health status, regardless of the urban definition used. Urban respondents do not always hold a higher standard for self-assessment of health. Instead, their rating styles depend on the level of latent health. After controlling for the reporting heterogeneity, we find on average a slight urban advantage in SRH, but it is most pronounced when using the statistical (density dependent) definition of urban.
Contribution: We study rural–urban health disparities based on three different urban definitions and migration status. Although we examine the urban definitions that are specific to China, we demonstrate a mindful approach when multiple definitions exist and caution against any simplistic approach that ignores context-specific urban definition. We also provide clear illustrations of the different types of reporting heterogeneity, as well as a way to visualize the cut-points, thresholds, and latent health estimates.
Author's Affiliation
Audrey Dorélien - University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States of America
Hongwei Xu - City University of New York, United States of America
Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research
»
Birth seasonality in Sub-Saharan Africa
Volume 34 - Article 27
»
Exploring the meaning of context for health: Community influences on child health in South India
Volume 24 - Article 15
Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research
»
Neighborhood-health links: Differences between rural-to-urban migrants and natives in Shanghai
Volume 33 - Article 17 | Keywords: China, self-rated health
»
Recent trends in the Chinese family: National estimates from 1990 to 2010
Volume 44 - Article 25 | Keywords: China
»
The mixed blessing of living together or close by: Parent–child relationship quality and life satisfaction of older adults in China
Volume 44 - Article 24 | Keywords: China
»
Family status and women’s career mobility during urban China’s economic transition
Volume 44 - Article 8 | Keywords: China
»
The effect of spousal separation and reunification on fertility: Chinese internal and international migration
Volume 43 - Article 29 | Keywords: China
Articles
Citations
Cited References: 54
»View the references of this article
Download to Citation Manager
Similar Articles
PubMed
Google Scholar