Psychological Distress in Urbanizing China: How Does Local Government Effectiveness Matter?

ABSTRACT: Despite growing literature identifying key individual, family, community, and environmental factors as causes for mental disorders during the process of urbanization, the role played by local government has not been taken into account. In this article, we investigate how the effectiveness of local government affects residents' levels of psychological distress in areas of China undergoing urbanization. We measure the effectiveness of local governments according to their success in promoting access to the social security system through the distribution of social security cards among citizens. We hypothesize that higher local government effectiveness will reduce residents' psychological distress by alleviating worries about medical expenses and elder care. Drawing on data from the 2018 Urbani

SUBMITTER: Chen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7922421 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature