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How Does an Environmental Amenity Attract Voluntary Migrants? Evidence from Ambient Air Quality in China

Author

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  • Moon Joon Kim

    (Energy Environment Policy and Technology, Graduate School of Energy and Environment (KU-KIST Green School), Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Xiaolin Xie

    (Sanford School of Public Policy and Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Xiaochen Zhang

    (Division of Social Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan 215316, China)

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that air quality is an important amenity for population relocation in China. However, much of Chinese internal migration occurs due to non-discretionary reasons, such as government policies, family considerations, and military personnel reassignments. As such, estimates of the impact of environmental amenities on migration that do not control for migration reasons may be biased. Using the 2015 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this paper estimates the impact of ambient air pollution on voluntary migration to other provinces for work. We find that more polluted days (air quality index (AQI) > 150) at the original residence leads to a significant increase in labor out-migration to a province with better air quality, providing evidence of the current migration trend leading to declining populations in China’s megacities. Our findings indicate that environmental migration is more favored among households that are less educated, are older, work overtime, and have lower income, suggesting that environmental migration may result from environmental health inequalities in socially disadvantaged families.

Suggested Citation

  • Moon Joon Kim & Xiaolin Xie & Xiaochen Zhang, 2021. "How Does an Environmental Amenity Attract Voluntary Migrants? Evidence from Ambient Air Quality in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6872-:d:576936
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    1. Tongshan Liu & Guoying Han & Wan Nie, 2022. "Optimal Residence: Does Air Quality Affect Settlement Decisions of Urban Floating Migrants?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.

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