Search

Purpose: Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, this work examines the relationship between housing price and the probability of marriage among the young. Design/methodology/approach: By exploiting land reform as an exogenous change in housing price and employing a differences-in-differences framework, this study investigates the effects of housing price on the marriage probability of young people. Findings: This work confirms that land reform decreased young people's likelihood of marriage. This finding is robust to a series of model specifications. The effects of land reform increased over time because of rising housing unaffordability from progressively inflating housing prices. Moreover, land reform had larger effects on renters and young adults aged below 30 than homeowners and young adults aged above 30. Social implications: Overall, this study highlights the negative consequences of an overheated housing market on marriage in developing countries. Originality/value: Housing prices have increased dramatically in urban China after 2002 upon the implementation of the assignment system of the use right of all kinds of profit-oriented lands by means of public bidding, auction and quotation. High housing prices indicate serious housing unaffordability, especially for young people who typically have low income and wealth. Homeownership that comes with various benefits can theoretically increase the likelihood of marriage, particularly in China where a house is often regarded as a prerequisite for marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the "centripetal force" and "centrifugal force" of the intermolecular distance model in physics, this article establishes a worthwhile and original mathematical model to analyze the influence of the distribution of cities on urban labor productivity. We incorporate the crowding parameter into the local spillover model and demonstrate the existence of the optimal intercity distance. In addition, we estimate the optimal intercity distance for urban economic efficiency by using data from Chinese prefecture-level cities. Judging from the deviation between the actual average distance and the optimal average distance in each region, the cities in the eastern region are overcrowding, and the cities in the central and western regions are too sparse. Findings in this study carry several important policy implications. For areas in the central and western regions with large administrative areas and large populations, it would be appropriate to increase the number of prefecture-level cities and industrial density through industrial transfer and development. This approach is conducive not only to improving the economic efficiency of the central and western cities and reducing the congestion of eastern cities but also to accommodating the radiation effect of the city on rural areas and achieving the goal of common prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, China is steadily pursuing high-quality development and promoting common prosperity, for which residents' health is a precondition. However, high housing-price-to-income ratios and rent-to-income ratios have already triggered many social problems and have substantially affected people's work and life. It is of practical significance to examine the relationship between housing burden and residents' health., Methods: Combining city-level housing price-to-income ratio data and residents' health data from the China Family Panel Studies, this study employs a binary logit model to investigate the impact and mechanism of housing burden on residents' physical and psychological health., Results: Overall, a 1% increase in the housing-price-to-income ratio leads to a 1.2% decrease in physical health and a 1.9% decrease in psychological health. In terms of different psychological state indicators, a 1% increase in the housing price-to-income ratio leads to a 1.1% increase in depression, 1.1% increase in nervousness, 1.4% increase in relentlessness, 1.4% increase in hopelessness, 1.0% increase in a sense of incapability, and 1.4% increase in meaninglessness. According to mechanistic analyses, a 1% increase in the housing-price-to-income ratio leads to increases of 0.6 and 0.7% in the smoking rate and late sleep rate, respectively, while it leads to a 0.9% decrease in the noon nap rate., Conclusion: A growing housing burden significantly negatively impacts both the physical and psychological health of residents and increases the possibility of negative emotions. Further investigation revealed that the housing burden damages residents' health by increasing their likelihood of smoking and sleeping late and decreasing their likelihood of taking a nap at noon, while exercise alleviates the negative impacts of the housing burden on residents' physical and psychological health. Finally, we also find that housing burdens' impacts on physical and psychological health differ significantly in terms of gender, age, and educational attainment. From the perspective of improving livelihoods, governments should consider the relationship between housing burdens and residents' health when formulating livelihood policies. Location-specific and targeted policies should be followed. Additionally, efforts should be made to promote exercise among citizens., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Guo, Zhong, Li and Luo.)