Abstract
At present, air pollution remains a serious environmental issue with extensive attention in China. It may not only cause population outflow but also poses significant threats to residents’ health. Therefore, it has become an imperative initiative to explore the impact of air pollution on the residents’ health. In this paper, we map the spatial distribution of air pollution, population migration, and residents’ health between 2010 and 2020 based on panel data from 31 Chinese provinces. Theoretical analysis and empirical tests are then carried out to investigate the intrinsic logical relationships between the three. The research findings demonstrate the following: (1) Air pollution not only has a direct negative impact on residents’ health, but it also has an indirect impact on residents’ health through the mediating effect of population migration. (2) Air pollution has a significant negative spatial spillover effect on residents’ health, and neighboring residents are at greater health risk of being exposed to air pollution than local residents. (3) Economic development, environmental regulation, and their interaction term exhibit a single threshold effect on the health risk of air pollution. (4) From the perspective of regional heterogeneity, we find that the health risk of air pollution is greater in northern China and the southeast of the Hu Line. This paper provides valuable insights for promoting the implementation of the grand strategies of “Beautiful China” and “Healthy China.”
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Brattich E et al (2020) Advection pathways at the Mt. Cimone WMO-GAW station: seasonality, trends, and influence on atmospheric composition. Atmos Environ 234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117513
Brown TH (2018) Racial Stratification, Immigration, and Health Inequality: A Life Course-Intersectional Approach. Soc Forces 96:1507–1540. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy013
Chang L, Zou T (2022) Spatio-temporal analysis of air pollution in North China Plain. Environ Ecol Stat 29:271–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10651-021-00521-4
Chen FL, Chen ZF (2021) Cost of economic growth: air pollution and health expenditure. Sci Total Environ 755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142543
Chen JD et al (2020a) The influence of increased population density in China on air pollution. Sci Total Environ 735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139456
Chen LJ et al (2020b) Air pollution, environmental perceptions, and citizen satisfaction: a mediation analysis. Environ Res 184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109287
Chen MJ et al (2023) Air quality health index (AQHI) based on multiple air pollutants and mortality risks in Taiwan: construction and validation. Environ Res 231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116214
Chen S et al (2022) The effect of air pollution on migration: Evidence from China. J Dev Econ 156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102833
Constant AF, Milewski N (2021) Self-selection in physical and mental health among older intra-European migrants. J Econ Ageing 19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2021.100322
Feng Q et al (2023) Effects of official and unofficial environmental regulations on environmental quality: evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. Environ Res 226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115667
Feng T et al (2020) Spatial spillover effects of environmental regulations on air pollution: Evidence from urban agglomerations in China. J Environ Manage 272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110998
Feng Y et al (2019) Spatial Effects of Air Pollution on Public Health in China. Environ Resource Econ 73:229–250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-018-0258-4
Feng YC, Wang XH (2021) Effects of National New District on economic development and air pollution in China: empirical evidence from 69 large and medium-sized cities. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:38594–38603. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13494-5
Gan T et al (2021) Do economic development and population agglomeration inevitably aggravate haze pollution in China? New evidence from spatial econometric analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:5063–5079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10847-4
Gao AF et al (2022) Coordinated health effects attributable to particulate matter and other pollutants exposures in the North China Plain. Environ Res 208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.112671
Guo QB et al (2022) Environmental migration effects of air pollution: micro-level evidence from China. Environ Pollut 292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118263
Han JK et al (2023) Exploring air pollution characteristics from spatio-temporal perspective: a case study of the top 10 urban agglomerations in China. Environ Res 224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115512
Ji HM et al (2022) Research on adaption to air pollution in Chinese cities: evidence from social media-based health sensing. Environ Res 210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.112762
Kuang C et al (2022) Heterogeneity environmental regulation and provincial haze pollution in China: an empirical study based on threshold model. Environ Develop Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02685-w
Lin YC et al (2021) Air pollution diffusion simulation and seasonal spatial risk analysis for industrial areas. Environ Res 194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110693
Liu HJ, Pei YF (2019) Economic development and China’s urban haze pollution: based on spatial correlation networks. Chin J Urban Environ Stud 7. https://doi.org/10.1142/s2345748119500015
Liu MJ et al (2021a) Urban-rural differences in the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and obesity in China. Environ Res 201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111597
Liu XX et al (2021b) Air pollution and high human capital population migration: an empirical study based on 35 major cities in China. Sustain Prod Consum 27:643–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.01.032
Lyu YM, Jiang FY (2022) Spatial and temporal distribution of population in urban agglomerations changes in China. Sci Rep 12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12274-6
Ma S et al (2023) Does air pollution induce international migration? New evidence from Chinese residents. Econ Model 120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2022.106176
Mazhin SA et al (2020) Migration health crisis associated with climate change: a systematic review. J Educ Health Promot 9. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_4_20
MEE & PRC (2022) Bulletin on China’s Ecological and Environmental Conditions in 2022. Ministry of Ecology and Environment & the People’s Republic of China, https://www.mee.gov.cn/hjzl/sthjzk/. Accessed 25 May 2023
Palma A et al (2022) Prenatal air pollution exposure and neonatal health. Health Econ 31:729–759. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4474
Peng ZX et al (2021) The impacts of pollution and its associated spatial spillover effects on ill-health in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:59630–59639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14813-6
Pinchas-Mizrachi R et al (2020) The “Sick immigrant” and “Healthy immigrant” phenomenon among Jews migrating from the USSR to Israel. Ssm-Population Health 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100694
Qiu H et al (2020) Coarse particles (PM2.5-10) and cause-specific hospitalizations in southwestern China: association, attributable risk and economic costs. Environ Res 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110004
SC & PRC, National Population Development Plan (2017) State Council of the People’s Republic of China, https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2017-01/25/content_5163309.htm. Accessed 15 January 2017)
SC & PRC, Opinions on Implementing Healthy China Action (2019) State Council of the People’s Republic of China, https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2019-07/15/content_5409492.htm. Accessed 15 July 2019
Schraufnagel DE et al (2019) Health benefits of air pollution reduction. Ann Am Thorac Soc 16:1478–1487. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201907-538CME
Shah V et al (2019) Widespread Pollution From Secondary Sources of Organic Aerosols During Winter in the Northeastern United States. Geophys Res Lett 46:2974–2983. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl081530
Song TL et al (2022) Comparative analysis of secondary organic aerosol formation during PM2.5 pollution and complex pollution of PM2.5 and O-3 in Chengdu, China. Atmosphere. 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13111834
Sun C et al (2017) Self-protection investment exacerbates air pollution exposure inequality in urban China. Ecol Econ 131:468–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.06.030
Sun H et al (2021) The impact of air pollution on urban residents’ health expenditure: spatial evidence from Yangtze River Delta, China. Air Qual Atmos Health 14:343–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-020-00939-y
Sun HB et al (2022) Does air pollution collaborative governance promote green technology innovation? Evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29:51609–51622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19535-x
Tan GR et al (2022) Intergovernmental competition, industrial spatial distribution, and air quality in China. J Environ Manage 310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114721
Usmani RSA et al (2020) Air pollution and its health impacts in Malaysia: a review. Air Qual Atmos Health 13:1093–1118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-020-00867-x
Wang LH et al (2021a) The air pollution effect of government economic growth expectations: evidence from China’s cities based on green technology. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:27639–27654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12536-2
Wang T et al (2021b) Heterogeneous effects of environmental regulation on air pollution: evidence from China’s prefecture-level cities. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:25782–25797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12434-7
Wang YZ et al (2022) The impacts of economic level and air pollution on public health at the micro and macro level. J Clean Prod 366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132932
Wu JX, Yang YM (2019) Inequality trends in the demographic and geographic distribution of health care professionals in China: data from 2002 to 2016. Int J Health Plann Manage 34:E487–E508. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2664
Xiao ZY et al (2022) Does population and industrial agglomeration exacerbate China’s pollution? J Environ Plan Manag 65:2696–2718. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1978059
Xu CQ et al (2022a) Air pollutant spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and effects on human health in North China. Chemosphere 294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133814
Xu F et al (2022b) Air pollution, residents’ happiness, and environmental regulation: evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29:64665–64679. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20233-x
Yang T et al (2022) Air pollution impacts on public health: Evidence from 110 cities in Yangtze River Economic Belt of China. Sci Total Environ 851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158125
Yuan XL et al (2015) Economic development, energy consumption, and air pollution: a critical assessment in China. Hum Ecol Risk Assess 21:781–798. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2014.932204
Zhang JJ, Mu Q (2018) Air pollution and defensive expenditures: evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks. J Environ Econ Manage 92:517–536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2017.07.006
Zhang SX et al (2021) Influence of air pollution on human comfort in five typical Chinese cities. Environ Res 195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110318
Zhang ZH et al (2022) The spatial impacts of air pollution and socio-economic status on public health: empirical evidence from China. Socioecon Plann Sci 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2021.101167
Zhao Y et al (2021a) Positive or negative externalities? Exploring the spatial spillover and industrial agglomeration threshold effects of environmental regulation on haze pollution in China. Environ Dev Sustain 23:11335–11356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01114-0
Zhao ZH et al (2021b) Real curve: Identifying and quantifying the real environmental effects on migration in China. Ecol Indic 133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108348
Zhou D et al (2021) Spatial-temporal characteristics of urban air pollution in 337 Chinese cities and their influencing factors. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:36234–36258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12825-w
Zhu J et al (2022) Multi-pollutant air pollution and associated health risks in China from 2014 to 2020. Atmos Environ 268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118829
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number: 72163017); National Social Science Fund of China (Grant Number: 19CTJ014); Jiangxi University Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fund (Grant Number: JJ22215); Jiangxi Social Science Planning Research Fund (Grant Number: 21JL04); Jiangxi University Humanities and Social Science Research Fund (Grant Number: JJ21113).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
Not applicable
Consent to participate
Not applicable
Consent to publish
Not applicable
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Fu, J., Fu, H., Zhu, C. et al. The impact of air pollution on residents’ health in China: the mediating effect of population migration. Air Qual Atmos Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-024-01506-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-024-01506-5