How an energy policy prevents child migration: A natural experiment of the coal-to-gas policy in China

Yuxin Zhu, Ziming Liu and Daniel Hermann

Energy Policy, 2025, vol. 198, issue C

Abstract: Energy policies are designed to improve human living conditions and then attract in-migration. Yet, when energy policies are implemented assertively, they generate unexpected impacts. In this paper, we investigate the impact of an energy policy - the Chinese coal-to-gas policy - on child migration, using data from seven rounds of nationwide surveys of labor migrants from 2012 to 2018. We find a significant and negative effect of the coal-to-gas policy on child migration. The negative effect is greater for poorer families and those with fewer years of migration. We conclude that the assertive implementation of the coal-to-gas policy aggravates the difficulty of migrant children to settle down. We highlight the potential downside of an assertive enforcement of energy policy.

Keywords: Child migration; Public policy; Natural experiment; Air pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:198:y:2025:i:c:s030142152400507x

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114487

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