How does the provision of urban subsidized housing impact the migrant workers' rural homestead withdrawal: Evidence from the Chengdu-Chongqing region, China

Rural homestead withdrawal (RHW) has been documented for many years, yet existing research has rarely examined this issue from an urban–rural linkage perspective, potentially leading to one-sidedness. Combining the New Economics of Labor Migration theory with social integration theory, we constructed an analytical framework of “urban subsidized housing–urban integration–rural homestead withdrawal”. We employed survey data in the Chengdu-Chongqing region of China and a nonlinear probability model to examine the impact of the provision of urban subsidized housing (PUSH) on the migrant workers' RHW. Our findings reveal that: (1) The PUSH significantly increases the likelihood of migrant workers' RHW. (2) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of PUSH on migrant workers' RHW is greater among new-generation migrant workers and in suburban villages and outlying villages. (3) Mediating effect analysis reveals that the PUSH facilitates migrant workers' RHW by improving their economic integration, social integration and psychological integration. (4) Further analysis indicates that self-purchased commercial housing has a stronger effect on migrant workers' RHW than PUSH, whereas renting shows a significant inhibitory effect. Moreover, public rental housing exerts a stronger promoting effect than affordable housing. This study provides new insights for China and other developing countries on promoting idle homestead governance through urban-rural housing security policies.