School of Urban and Regional Science, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China.
Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 May 21;21(6):652. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21060652.
Malnutrition remains a critical global health challenge, especially in rural areas, where it significantly impacts the health and economic stability of households. This study explores (1) the relationship between labor migration and dietary protein intake in households remaining in economically disadvantaged rural regions and (2) the influence of remittance income, farm earnings, self-produced food, and changes in family size due to migration on their dietary protein. Panel data were collected through a three-wave household survey of 1368 rural households across six counties in the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Shaanxi during 2012, 2015, and 2018. Employing a two-way fixed effects model, we found that labor migration positively affects the protein consumption of families left behind. The mediated effects model indicated that decreases in family size had the most significant impact on protein intake, with a value of 8.714, accounting for 0.729 of the total effect; followed by the mediating effect through crop income, at 2.579, representing 0.216 of the total effect; and livestock income, at 0.772, contributing 0.073 of the total effect. However, the mediating effects of remittance income and self-production were found to be insignificant. In conclusion, our study found that migration improves protein intake primarily through increased crop and livestock production and decreased family size. These results highlight the critical role of family structure and farm productivity in enhancing the nutrition of families affected by labor migration, offering valuable insights for policymakers.
营养不良仍然是一个全球性的健康挑战，特别是在农村地区，它严重影响了家庭的健康和经济稳定。本研究探讨了（1）在经济落后的农村地区，留守家庭的劳动力迁移与膳食蛋白质摄入量之间的关系，以及（2）汇款收入、农场收入、自产食品以及因迁移导致的家庭规模变化对其膳食蛋白质的影响。本研究通过对 2012 年、2015 年和 2018 年贵州省、云南省和陕西省六个县的 1368 户农村家庭进行的三次家庭调查收集了面板数据。采用双向固定效应模型，我们发现劳动力迁移对留守家庭的蛋白质消费有积极影响。中介效应模型表明，家庭规模的减少对蛋白质摄入的影响最大，其值为 8.714，占总效应的 0.729；其次是通过农作物收入的中介效应，其值为 2.579，占总效应的 0.216；以及通过畜牧业收入的中介效应，其值为 0.772，占总效应的 0.073。然而，汇款收入和自我生产的中介效应被发现并不显著。总之，我们的研究发现，迁移主要通过增加农作物和畜牧业生产以及减少家庭规模来提高蛋白质摄入。这些结果强调了家庭结构和农业生产力在提高受劳动力迁移影响的家庭营养方面的关键作用，为政策制定者提供了有价值的见解。
