Network infrastructure and individual mental health: evidence from China

Rui Zhang, Dawei Feng and Ruifeng Teng

Applied Economics, 2025, vol. 57, issue 53, 8884-8898

Abstract: Network infrastructure has changed people’s daily life through digital transformation, thus influencing social welfare and individual health. Based on the quasi-natural experiment ‘Broadband China Strategy’, this study investigates the impact of network infrastructure construction on individual mental health by utilizing a multi-period difference-in-differences model with data from China Family Panel Studies (2010–2018). The empirical results confirm that the network infrastructure construction significantly enhances the individual mental health of residents. The impact channel tests reveal that network infrastructure construction promotes individual mental health through income improving and consumption upgrading. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis suggests that the ‘Broadband China’ strategy has a more substantial impact on individual mental health in lower educated, middle-aged and elderly groups.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2024.2405197

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