Turning point or selection? The effect of rustication on subsequent health for the Chinese Cultural Revolution cohort

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-76), Chairman Mao sent 17 million urban youth to rural areas to be “reeducated.” These “sent-down” youth spent years working alongside peasants, enduring inadequate diets, shelter and medical attention. What were the consequences for subsequent health? Was there a benefit to individuals in the leading or trailing edges of this cohort? Was this a fundamental turning point or were selection process at work? Drawing on the 1994 State and Life Chances in Urban China Survey, I find the health disadvantage at midlife is mostly borne by members of the trailing-edge sub-cohort who lived in the countryside for more than five years. Results from propensity-score analysis indicate a selection process: those who suffered most came from disadvantaged backgrounds. Life chances following the rusticates' return home, however, either do not differ from those who stayed in cities or do not relate to health, refuting the turning-point view, at least in terms of midlife health.