IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i24p16387-d996599.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of the Dwelling Environment on Rural Elderly Cognition: Empirical Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Yuxiao Gao

    (College of State Governance, Southwest University, Beibei District, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Youhua Wang

    (College of State Governance, Southwest University, Beibei District, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Tao Rao

    (College of State Governance, Southwest University, Beibei District, Chongqing 400715, China)

Abstract

Due to the falling birth rate and large-scale rural–urban migration, the ageing population in rural China is critical, and the quality of life of the rural elderly needs to be given more attention. In recent years, as an important part of new rural construction in China, the rural environment has been greatly improved, but the impact of such environmental improvement on the health of the rural elderly is not clear. Based on China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data, this paper aims to assess the effect of the improvement of the indoor dwelling environment on cognition among the rural elderly by using a series of the difference-in-difference models (DID) under a counterfactual causality framework. The results showed that first, the improvement of both the toilet type and in-house shower/bath facility had a significant effect on the overall memory and delayed memory among the rural elderly in China, but the effect on immediate memory did not pass the significant test. Second, although access to running water could improve all types of memory, the effect was not significant. In summary, the indoor dwelling environment should be strengthened to ensure the process of healthy ageing in rural China.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuxiao Gao & Youhua Wang & Tao Rao, 2022. "The Effect of the Dwelling Environment on Rural Elderly Cognition: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:24:p:16387-:d:996599
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16387/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16387/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jie Dong & Kuan Zhang & Xiguo Yin & Houjian Li & Mansoor Ahmed Koondhar, 2021. "Does piped water improve adolescent health? Empirical evidence from rural China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 1601-1628, August.
    2. Kaemmer N. Henderson & Lauren G. Killen & Eric K. O’Neal & Hunter S. Waldman, 2021. "The Cardiometabolic Health Benefits of Sauna Exposure in Individuals with High-Stress Occupations. A Mechanistic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-13, January.
    3. Ailshire, Jennifer & Karraker, Amelia & Clarke, Philippa, 2017. "Neighborhood social stressors, fine particulate matter air pollution, and cognitive function among older U.S. adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 56-63.
    4. Jing Wang & Lily Dongxia Xiao & Kai Wang & Yan Luo & Xiaomei Li, 2020. "Gender Differences in Cognitive Impairment among Rural Elderly in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-16, May.
    5. Avraham Ebenstein, 2012. "The Consequences of Industrialization: Evidence from Water Pollution and Digestive Cancers in China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 186-201, February.
    6. Hong Yang & Jim A. Wright & Stephen W. Gundry, 2012. "Boost water safety in rural China," Nature, Nature, vol. 484(7394), pages 318-318, April.
    7. Kateryna B. Fuks & Claudia Wigmann & Hicran Altug & Tamara Schikowski, 2019. "Road Traffic Noise at the Residence, Annoyance, and Cognitive Function in Elderly Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-12, May.
    8. Wondimu S. Manalew & Vidhura S. Tennekoon, 2019. "Dirty hands on troubled waters: Sanitation, access to water and child health in Ethiopia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(4), pages 1800-1817, November.
    9. Nan Lu & Shicun Xu & Jingyue Zhang, 2021. "Community Social Capital, Family Social Capital, and Self-Rated Health among Older Rural Chinese Adults: Empirical Evidence from Rural Northeastern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, May.
    10. Yuan-Ting C. Lo & Ya-Chi Lu & Yu-Hung Chang & Senyeong Kao & Han-Bin Huang, 2019. "Air Pollution Exposure and Cognitive Function in Taiwanese Older Adults: A Repeated Measurement Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-12, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mina Chandra & Chandra Bhushan Rai & Neelam Kumari & Vipindeep Kaur Sandhu & Kalpana Chandra & Murali Krishna & Sri Harsha Kota & Kuljeet Singh Anand & Anna Oudin, 2022. "Air Pollution and Cognitive Impairment across the Life Course in Humans: A Systematic Review with Specific Focus on Income Level of Study Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-39, January.
    2. Jie Dong & Kuan Zhang & Xiguo Yin & Houjian Li & Mansoor Ahmed Koondhar, 2021. "Does piped water improve adolescent health? Empirical evidence from rural China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 1601-1628, August.
    3. Yuehong Qiu & Zeming Deng & Chujuan Jiang & Kaigong Wei & Lijun Zhu & Jieting Zhang & Can Jiao, 2022. "The Associations of Meteorological and Environmental Factors with Memory Function of the Older Age in Urban Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, April.
    4. Gourdon, Julien & Monjon, Stéphanie & Poncet, Sandra, 2016. "Trade policy and industrial policy in China: What motivates public authorities to apply restrictions on exports?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 105-120.
    5. David A. Keiser & Joseph S. Shapiro, 2019. "US Water Pollution Regulation over the Past Half Century: Burning Waters to Crystal Springs?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 51-75, Fall.
    6. Nan Jia & Yinshuai Li & Ruishan Chen & Hongbo Yang, 2023. "A Review of Global PM 2.5 Exposure Research Trends from 1992 to 2022," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, July.
    7. Liu Antung & Zhang Junjie, 2013. "Fiscal Decentralization and Environmental Infrastructure in China," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 13(2), pages 733-759, July.
    8. David A Keiser & Joseph S Shapiro, 2019. "Consequences of the Clean Water Act and the Demand for Water Quality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(1), pages 349-396.
    9. Zhang, Guoxing & Deng, Nana & Mou, Haizhen & Zhang, Zhe George & Chen, Xiaofeng, 2019. "The impact of the policy and behavior of public participation on environmental governance performance: Empirical analysis based on provincial panel data in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1347-1354.
    10. Christopher Hansman & Jonas Hjort & Gianmarco León, 2015. "Firms' Response and Unintended Health Consequences of Industrial Regulations," Working Papers 809, Barcelona School of Economics.
    11. Guo, Liwen & Cheng, Zhiming & Tani, Massimiliano & Cook, Sarah & Zhao, Jiaqi & Chen, Xi, 2022. "Air Pollution and Entrepreneurship," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1196, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. George B. Cunningham & Pamela Wicker & Brian P. McCullough, 2020. "Pollution, Health, and the Moderating Role of Physical Activity Opportunities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-15, August.
    13. Bing Xue & Mario Tobias, 2015. "Sustainability in China: Bridging Global Knowledge with Local Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-7, March.
    14. Xiangyu Chang & Yinghui Huang & Mei Li & Xin Bo & Subodha Kumar, 2021. "Efficient Detection of Environmental Violators: A Big Data Approach," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(5), pages 1246-1270, May.
    15. Shiyu Bo, 2021. "Environmental Regulations, Political Incentives and Local Economic Activities: Evidence from China," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 812-835, June.
    16. Iris Claus & Les Oxley & Siqi Zheng & Cong Sun & Ye Qi & Matthew E. Kahn, 2014. "The Evolving Geography Of China'S Industrial Production: Implications For Pollution Dynamics And Urban Quality Of Life," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 709-724, September.
    17. Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung, 2017. "East Asian Financial and Economic Development," NBER Working Papers 23845, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Wu, Haoyi & Guo, Huanxiu & Zhang, Bing & Bu, Maoliang, 2017. "Westward movement of new polluting firms in China: Pollution reduction mandates and location choice," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 119-138.
    19. Li, Hao & Guo, Huanxiu & Huang, Naqun & Ye, Jingjing, 2020. "Health risks of exposure to waste pollution: Evidence from Beijing," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Long, Houyin & Wu, Guilin & Wang, Jiaxin & Zhang, Pengdong, 2023. "How U.S. job policy affects China's scientific and technological manufacturing firms? A perspective based on the competitive environment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:24:p:16387-:d:996599. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.