The spatial mobility of rural labor faces the environmental injustice of air pollution

Chang Li; Jiaying Li; Xiangbo Xu; Xiaohua Yu; Linxiu Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.cities.2026.106796

The spatial mobility of rural labor faces the environmental injustice of air pollution

Chang Li
, Jiaying Li (Co-first Author)
, Xiangbo Xu^*
, Xiaohua Yu
, Linxiu Zhang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Public and International Affairs

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

This paper quantifies the impact of air pollution on the spatial mobility of rural labor, investigates the underlying mechanisms, and identifies the heterogeneous impacts across labor characteristics. Using panel data for 103,409 rural laborers in China from 2000 to 2015, this study employs a Heckman two-stage model combined with an instrumental variable approach. Key findings indicate that urban air quality act as a significant deterrent at the destination, rather than a push factor at the origin. While hometown pollution does not significantly drive laborers to emigrate, a 10 μg/m³increase in a city's PM_2.5 concentration is associated with a 4.30% decrease in the probability of rural labor migrating to that city. This mechanism operates through environmental regulations, which inhibit the secondary industry and promote industrial upgrading, thus altering the rural labor demand. Furthermore, the deterrent effect is more pronounced for less-educated rural laborers, particularly those employed in factories. This research offers critical insights into environmental injustice, where urban pollution-induced regulations in destination cities create ecnomic barriers to China's rural labor force. Therefore, future urbanization strategies should integrate environmental protection with inclusive labor market concerns to ensure equitable development. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.

Original language	English
Article number	106796
Journal	Cities
Volume	171
Online published	13 Jan 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2026.106796
Publication status	Published - Apr 2026

Funding

We are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72374190, 72561147303, 32361143523), the Young Talents Project of Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2023RC003) and Tsinghua University Scholarship Program of China Institute for Rural Studies for Outstanding Doctoral Candidates (202219). We are especially grateful to our research assistance team for providing extraordinary support during the field work. We would also like to thank Yu Sheng, Shuai Shao, Shuai Chen, and Weizeng Sun for feedback on a draft version of the manuscript. We thank to Jinxia Wang and Binlei Gong as well as the participants of the Beijing Association of Agricultural Economics Annual Conference 2022 in Beijing, Yanping Song as well as the participants of the Chinese Conference on Agriculture & Forestry Economics and Management 2022 in Beijing, Zhentong Hu as well as the participants of the Doctoral Forum on Rural Studies held by China Institute for Rural Studies in Tsinghua University, Dengke Chen and Xing Shi as well as the participants of the XiangZhang Economics Seminar 2022 (Hefei), Xuemei Jiang, Hui Wang, and Weidong Wang as well as the participants of the workshop held by Beijing Forestry University for their helpful comments and discussions. The views expressed in this paper are solely the authors' and do not necessarily reflect the views of the supporting agencies. The authors alone are responsible for any remaining deficiencies.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Research Keywords

Air pollution
Rural labor mobility
Environmental injustice
Environmental regulation
Industrial transformation

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title = "The spatial mobility of rural labor faces the environmental injustice of air pollution",

abstract = "This paper quantifies the impact of air pollution on the spatial mobility of rural labor, investigates the underlying mechanisms, and identifies the heterogeneous impacts across labor characteristics. Using panel data for 103,409 rural laborers in China from 2000 to 2015, this study employs a Heckman two-stage model combined with an instrumental variable approach. Key findings indicate that urban air quality act as a significant deterrent at the destination, rather than a push factor at the origin. While hometown pollution does not significantly drive laborers to emigrate, a 10 μg/m3 increase in a city's PM2.5 concentration is associated with a 4.30\% decrease in the probability of rural labor migrating to that city. This mechanism operates through environmental regulations, which inhibit the secondary industry and promote industrial upgrading, thus altering the rural labor demand. Furthermore, the deterrent effect is more pronounced for less-educated rural laborers, particularly those employed in factories. This research offers critical insights into environmental injustice, where urban pollution-induced regulations in destination cities create ecnomic barriers to China's rural labor force. Therefore, future urbanization strategies should integrate environmental protection with inclusive labor market concerns to ensure equitable development. {\textcopyright} 2026 Elsevier Ltd. ",

keywords = "Air pollution, Rural labor mobility, Environmental injustice, Environmental regulation, Industrial transformation",

author = "Chang Li and Jiaying Li and Xiangbo Xu and Xiaohua Yu and Linxiu Zhang",

year = "2026",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1016/j.cities.2026.106796",

language = "English",

volume = "171",

journal = "Cities",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - The spatial mobility of rural labor faces the environmental injustice of air pollution

AU - Li, Chang

AU - Li, Jiaying

AU - Xu, Xiangbo

AU - Yu, Xiaohua

AU - Zhang, Linxiu

PY - 2026/4

Y1 - 2026/4

N2 - This paper quantifies the impact of air pollution on the spatial mobility of rural labor, investigates the underlying mechanisms, and identifies the heterogeneous impacts across labor characteristics. Using panel data for 103,409 rural laborers in China from 2000 to 2015, this study employs a Heckman two-stage model combined with an instrumental variable approach. Key findings indicate that urban air quality act as a significant deterrent at the destination, rather than a push factor at the origin. While hometown pollution does not significantly drive laborers to emigrate, a 10 μg/m3 increase in a city's PM2.5 concentration is associated with a 4.30% decrease in the probability of rural labor migrating to that city. This mechanism operates through environmental regulations, which inhibit the secondary industry and promote industrial upgrading, thus altering the rural labor demand. Furthermore, the deterrent effect is more pronounced for less-educated rural laborers, particularly those employed in factories. This research offers critical insights into environmental injustice, where urban pollution-induced regulations in destination cities create ecnomic barriers to China's rural labor force. Therefore, future urbanization strategies should integrate environmental protection with inclusive labor market concerns to ensure equitable development. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.

AB - This paper quantifies the impact of air pollution on the spatial mobility of rural labor, investigates the underlying mechanisms, and identifies the heterogeneous impacts across labor characteristics. Using panel data for 103,409 rural laborers in China from 2000 to 2015, this study employs a Heckman two-stage model combined with an instrumental variable approach. Key findings indicate that urban air quality act as a significant deterrent at the destination, rather than a push factor at the origin. While hometown pollution does not significantly drive laborers to emigrate, a 10 μg/m3 increase in a city's PM2.5 concentration is associated with a 4.30% decrease in the probability of rural labor migrating to that city. This mechanism operates through environmental regulations, which inhibit the secondary industry and promote industrial upgrading, thus altering the rural labor demand. Furthermore, the deterrent effect is more pronounced for less-educated rural laborers, particularly those employed in factories. This research offers critical insights into environmental injustice, where urban pollution-induced regulations in destination cities create ecnomic barriers to China's rural labor force. Therefore, future urbanization strategies should integrate environmental protection with inclusive labor market concerns to ensure equitable development. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.

KW - Air pollution

KW - Rural labor mobility

KW - Environmental injustice

KW - Environmental regulation

KW - Industrial transformation

U2 - 10.1016/j.cities.2026.106796

DO - 10.1016/j.cities.2026.106796

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 0264-2751

VL - 171

JO - Cities

JF - Cities

M1 - 106796

ER -

The spatial mobility of rural labor faces the environmental injustice of air pollution

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

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