Does sanitation infrastructure in rural areas affect migrant workers’ health? Empirical evidence from China

Health is considered the most important factor for individual well-being and a country’s sustainable development. Among the influential factors of population health, sanitary infrastructure, particularly sanitary toilets and innocuous-sanitary toilets, have already attracted attention. In recent years, to improve the overall health status of rural residents, the Chinese government has promoted the “toilet revolution” in rural areas to update and modernize the facilities of toilets. Given that migrant workers contribute significantly to China’s economic growth, and that the migrant workers generally lived in rural areas before they moved to urban areas to find jobs, it is of great interest and importance to investigate the impacts of sanitary infrastructure in rural areas on the migrant workers. This study analyzes the spatial characteristic of rural sanitation facilities’ implementation and looks for possible correlation between the health status of migrant workers and the implementation of sanitation facilities in their hometowns. Micro-survey data of migrant workers’ health status from China Household Income Projects (CHIP) 2013 and macro-data of provincial economic factors are matched to provide a quality analysis. The analysis of the spatial distribution shows that there were significantly large gaps between the prevalence rates of sanitary toilets in provinces. Furthermore, the regression analysis indicates that the implementation of sanitary toilets and innocuous-sanitary toilets exhibits a positive effect on the overall health status of migrant workers, although the effects of the innocuous-sanitary toilets are greater. Moreover, the positive influences of both types of toilets on population health are higher in the provinces with relatively greater annual precipitation and higher average temperature.