Housing quality and its determinants in rural China: a structural equation model analysis

Rural residents spend more money on housing than on any other item in their lifetimes in China and housing quality is a crucial determinant of their subjective well-being. Based on the 2010 wave of the China General Social Survey, this paper investigates housing quality and its determinants in rural China. Since housing quality is multi-dimensional and indicated by housing size, construction material, tap water, indoor toilet and indoor kitchen, this paper takes housing quality as a latent variable and applies a structural equation model. Results show that housing inequality and poverty exist in rural China, especially in the central and inland regions. In addition, results suggest that household income, social network, communist party membership, and human capital have significant positive impacts on rural residents’ housing quality while construction cost has negative impacts. Housing-improvement programs should be implemented to assist the poor in improving housing quality.