Author(s)

Junyi Chen, Ziying Wu

Corresponding Author

Junyi Chen

Abstract

Objective: To explore the contribution of resident endowment and household registration system to residents' self-rated health disparities, and to provide empirical reference for narrowing the health disparities between Chinese urban and rural residents and promoting health equity policies. Methods: Based on self-rated health data from Chinese Family Panel Studies in 2016, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method was used to analyze the reasons for the health disparities between urban and rural residents. Results: Under China's urban-rural dual system, health disparities still exist between urban and rural areas, and urban residents possess better health than rural residents. Health disparities are mainly caused by the difference in residents’ endowment characteristics. Endowment of the urban residents further reduces the mitigation effect of household registration system on health disparities between urban and rural residents. Education contributes the most to the expansion of urban-rural health disparity, followed by age, exercise, and use of clean water. Income contributes the most to the narrowing of urban-rural health disparity, followed by work status and medical insurance. Conclusion: We must deepen the reform of the household registration system, promote rural revitalization, perfect the employment mechanism, and pay special attention to rural education development and increase of farmers' income. Also, there is need to optimize the supply of rural public services, achieve unified medical insurance benefits between urban and rural areas, strengthen the publicity of health education.

Keywords

Health Disparities, Household registration system, Endowment characteristics, Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition