Abstract:

In the context of rural revitalization, rural toilet reform has become an important part of the improvement of the rural human settlement environment in China. This study is based on the provincial panel data of China’s central and western regions from 2010 to 2017 to study the impact of rural toilet reform on the health of rural residents. The results showed that: rural toilet reform had a significantly positive impact on the health of rural residents; the urbanization rate could strengthen the role of rural toilet reform in promoting the health of rural residents; rural toilet reform could improve the health of rural residents by reducing the incidence of dysentery. After considering the endogenous problem, the impact of rural toilet reform on the health of rural residents is still significant, indicating that the research conclusions are reliable. Therefore, in the construction of beautiful villages, China should intensify the rural toilet reform, strengthen rural residents’ health awareness, and promote rural governance, thereby improving the living environment and the health level of rural residents.

Key words: rural toilet reform, health level of rural residents, popularization rate of harmless sanitary toilets, per capita medical consumption expenditure of rural residents, the central and western regions of China