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Do Clean Toilets Help Improve Farmers’ Mental Health? Empirical Evidence from China’s Rural Toilet Revolution

Author

Listed:
  • Ruohan Zhang

    (College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Jialan Zhang

    (College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Kuan Zhang

    (College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Dingde Xu

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Yanbin Qi

    (College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Xin Deng

    (College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

Abstract

The mental health crisis poses a major challenge to global sustainable development. In response, the United Nations has launched an ambitious plan to “reshape the environment that affects mental health”. Clean toilets are an important measure of civilization, yet it is unclear whether they are helping to alleviate the global mental health crisis. Therefore, using data from a large sample of rural Chinese households and introducing an instrumental variables approach based on the IV-Tobit model to address endogeneity, this study quantitatively discusses that clean latrines have a positive effect on the mental health of farm households. The results showed the following: (1) 89.8% of Chinese rural households had clean toilets, while the average farm household depression index was 12.568; and (2) clean toilets helped to improve the mental health of farmers, which means that the depression index of farmers with clean toilets decreased by 66.9% compared to farmers without clean toilets. The findings of this study can inform the development of policies to mitigate the global mental health crisis and contribute to the resilience of global development.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruohan Zhang & Jialan Zhang & Kuan Zhang & Dingde Xu & Yanbin Qi & Xin Deng, 2024. "Do Clean Toilets Help Improve Farmers’ Mental Health? Empirical Evidence from China’s Rural Toilet Revolution," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:1:p:128-:d:1319762
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phillips, David R. & Siu, Oi-ling & Yeh, Anthony G.O. & Cheng, Kevin H.C., 2005. "The impacts of dwelling conditions on older persons' psychological well-being in Hong Kong: the mediating role of residential satisfaction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(12), pages 2785-2797, June.
    2. Katie Hayes & Blake Poland, 2018. "Addressing Mental Health in a Changing Climate: Incorporating Mental Health Indicators into Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Xinyang Lyu & Zhigang Wang & Cheryl Wachenheim & Shi Zheng, 2025. "Are Rural Residents Willing to Pay for Sanitation Improvements? Evidence from China’s Toilet Revolution," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.

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