相对收入对外出务工的影响:来自中国农村的证据

验证相对收入对外出务工的影响是对已有劳动力流动影响因素研究的重要补充,也有助于全面认识小范围内收入不平等的经济影响。本文使用农业部大样本定点调查数据,验证了两种常用的相对贫困指标对是否外出务工、外出务工人数比例和外出务工时间的影响,从验证内容、指标设计和计量方法等方面改进了已有的对中国农村相关问题的研究。研究发现:村内的相对贫困状态对外出务工产生了全面且显著的影响。在满足基本的外出所需资金之后,相对收入地位较低的家庭会倾向于外出务工。本研究还发现:通过外出务工,中国农村小范围内的收入不平等现象得到一定程度的改善。     

基于人力资本投资视角的广东农民增收实证研究

通过理论分析并运用协整方法进行实证研究，检验广东农民人力资本投资与其收入增长的关系。研究表明，农民的教育投资、健康投资、迁移投资和农民收入之间存在长期均衡的协整关系。从长期来看，三种农民人力资本投资都对农民的收入增长存在显著的正向影响；从短期来看，农民的教育投资和健康投资能增加农民的收入，而迁移投资则负向影响着农民的收入。     

制度抑制与效率损失:农民贫困的制度经济学分析

探索解决农民贫困的出路为学界和政界所普遍关注，以往的文献中从多个方面给出解决这一问题的对策，但大都只能涉及表面问题．根本问题并没有得到解决。农民贫困的根本原因在于不合理的制度设计，只要不利于农民状况的制度设计不变革．农民贫困问题就没有办法从根本上得到解决。农民的贫困是制度性贫困，农民摆脱贫困需要分析制度瓶颈发挥作用的经济学机理。     

农业机械化跨区作业是农村劳务合作的好办法

近年来．外出务工成了农民经济收入的主要来源，随之而来的是农忙时节农业劳力的相对不足。农闲时节搞田间管理还算过得去，但在抢收抢种的大忙时节就显得严重不足了。如何解决这一难题呢？笔者认为，机械化跨区作业是解决这一问题的好办法。     

农民工对政府政策的需求调查及政策建议——基于764份问卷调查表的分析

文章利用764份问卷调查袁的数据，具体分析了农村劳动力迁移者和未迁移者对政府政策的需求。结果显示，他们的最大期望，一方面是在城市中得到稳定的就业机会，另一方面希望农村土地的承包权得到保障。因此，进一步规划解决农村劳动力迁移问题的战略思路：其一，统筹城乡就业，加强劳动力市场制度建设；其二，保障农民工的土地承包权，减少农民进城务工就业的风险。     

我国农民贫困原因分析及对策

农民贫困是当前中国“三农”问题中的一个突出问题。本文从阐述我国农民贫困的现状出发，着重于从农民的收入与支出这两个与农民生活联系最紧密且最直观的视角来探究其原因，并针对具体情况给出了一系列对策建议，旨在对解决农民贫困问题有所助益。     

外出务工对贫困脆弱性的影响:来自西部山区农户的证据

本文从理论上研究了家庭收入来源的增加对贫困脆弱性的影响,并基于西部山区农户的调查数据对家庭外出务工收入和贫困脆弱性的关系进行了实证分析.研究发现:中国西部山区农户的外出务工收入增加可以降低因农业收入损失所导致的贫困脆弱性,但对因疾病冲击所导致的贫困脆弱性的降低没有影响.本文还发现家庭层面的社会资本可以降低贫困脆弱性,对同质风险冲击所导致的脆弱性也同样有效.     

农村贫困问题的制度性分析

当前我国农民收入有了明显增加,但城乡居民收入差距也在逐步的拉大,深入分析农民贫困的成因并提出相应的对策是摆在我们面前的一个刻不容缓的课题.笔者从制度这一视角出发认为,造成当下中国农民贫困现状的主要原因是有效的制度供给不足,解决农民贫困问题的出路也在于合理的制度设计.     

新时期影响农民家庭经营纯收入增加的因素分析

本文概述了我国农民家庭经营纯收入现状，分析了影响我国农民人均纯收入提高的因素，探索提高农民经营性收入的途径：农业基础设施薄弱；农产品价格不合理，种粮收入低；农民进入市场的组织化程度低；农民文化素质、专业技能比较低；农业科技水平较低，应相应的采取措施解决。     

关注农村留守儿童的健康成长

在国家一系列惠民政策的推动下，进城务工已成为贫困地区农民脱贫致富的一个重要途径，尤其是对于祖祖辈辈生活在干旱贫困，靠天吃饭的古浪县黑松驿镇的农民来说，更是如此。于是越来越多的农民工背井离乡外出务工。这样，就在农村出现了一个特殊的群落——乡村留守儿童。留守儿童的教育问题也成为备受社会关注的重要话题。     

Relative deprivation and health revisited: New evidence from middle-aged and older adults in rural China

The critical role of income in individual health is not only reflected in the direct effect of income but also derived from the relative income levels within cohorts. This study first constructs relative deprivation indicators to measure the relative income levels of rural households by taking village-level households as the reference group. Using the data from the four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011–2018), we apply a panel event study approach to detect the impact of relative deprivation on the health status of rural middle-aged and older adults. The estimation results show the significantly negative and persistent effects of deterioration in relative deprivation on the physical and mental health outcomes of these adults. In rural China, the impact of relative deprivation on individual health shows significant age and wealth differences, but no significant gender differences are observed. Meanwhile, local collective culture plays important roles. The findings have important implications for the government to improve public health policies and promote healthy aging.     

Migration and its Determinants: A Study of Two Communities in Colombia

Using data gathered by the author in two communities in Southwestern Colombia, this paper tests a model of migration which incorporates relative deprivation as one of many possible reasons to migrate. The study finds that the product of relative deprivation and family income not only has a sensible interpretation; it is a better predictor of migration than its two component variables alone. Results also show that families with the highest propensities to migrate are those with the most to gain in terms of being better able to reduce relative deprivation through successful migration. These families, however, are neither at the bottom nor at the top of the income distribution in their communities. The study also finds that those most likely to migrate to the USA conform most closely to the immigration policies of the USA.

Do the Chinese “Keep up with the Jones”?: Implications of peer effects,growing economic disparities and relative deprivation on health outcomes among older adults in China

What are the health effects of unequal economic growth? What are the health consequences of ‘keeping up with the Jones’? Many developed countries (e.g., US and Japan) have experienced significant income growth between 1950s and 2000s but population survey shows that on average the population is not growing more satisfied with life. Theories that attempt to respond to these findings hypothesize that as income grows, people may spend more on conspicuous consumption because they compare themselves with others in their peer groups and care about their position in socio-economic distributions relative to others. Indeed, public health studies have found a relationship between income inequality and adult health outcomes in developed countries. Specifically, there seems to be a correlation between social hierarchy and mortality, as well as a correlation between social hierarchy and morbidity.China is a prime study site due to its growing spatial inequalities in the past decade. Though China has been committed to economic reform, different regions and cities have encountered very disparate rates of development and growth. In this paper, we utilize a set of panel data collected in China (China Health and Nutrition Survey 1989–2004) to examine the effects of peer groups, relative deprivation, and income disparities on individual health outcomes such as the probability of high waist circumference, body mass index categories, probability of hypertension, nutritional intake as well as health behavior such as smoking. We use a combination of multi-level mixed effects modeling as well as factor analysis to examine these effects and find significant and differential effects of income quartiles, peer groups, relative deprivation, and Gini coefficient on health.     

The impacts of income gaps on migration decisions in China

Using survey data from China, this article examines the effects of income gaps on migration decisions and the sources of these gaps. The econometric results support the hypothesis that income gaps significantly influence migration decisions. When income gap reaches a certain level, the reaction of the migration probability to income gap is weaker for men than for women. The relative income of women is less sensitive to an increase in rural income but more sensitive to a decrease in urban income than that of men. Moreover, we find that the urban to rural income gap is larger for women than for men, which suggests that women receive larger monetary return from migration than men do. In decomposing income gaps, we find that the gap for men is largely determined by differences in the attributes of migrants and nonmigrants, whereas for women, the gap is mainly determined by differences in returns to attributes.     

Job stress in Japanese academia: The role of relative income,time allocation by task,and children

We examine the role of income relative deprivation, time allocation by task, and children in the job stress experienced by Japanese academics. Males’ job stress increases when their incomes are lower than that of their peers’, but females are not susceptible to such income comparisons. Job stress decreases with hours spent on research, provided the hours are not excessive; however, hours spent in teaching and on administrative tasks always increase job stress. The presence of young children increases job stress only for females, and children largely explain the observed gender differences in job-related stress.     

贫困是否影响农村中老年人的精神健康——基于CHARLS数据的实证研究

农村老年人在经济上是最为弱势的群体,他们的贫困发生率远远高于城市老人。贫困不仅体现为物质上的剥夺,更会引起认知退化和抑郁等精神健康上的问题。文章使用中国健康与养老追踪调查数据,实证考察经济状况对农村中老年人精神健康的影响。多层线性模型估计结果表明：家庭人均年收入每提高一千元,反映认知状况的情景记忆显著提高0.132分、精神状态显著提高0.121分,而反映抑郁程度的CES-D则显著下降0.293分。进一步分析表明,收入对精神健康的促进作用对高收入者更大。考虑到农村更加严重的老龄化程度,通过减贫实现农村中老年人精神健康状况的改善将具有重要的现实意义。     

Cash seeking behaviour and migration: a place-to-place migration function for Cote d'Ivoire

"This paper presents estimates of an aggregate place-to-place migration function for Cote d'Ivoire based on the premise that migration is motivated by rural residents' desire for cash income. The results indicate that migration from a region responds differently to changes in cash and food income, which supports the idea that it is the composition of rural income, and not just its level, that determines migration flows."     

Measurement of deprivation and poverty based on the proportion spent on food: An exploratory exercise

This paper attempts to broaden the scope of poverty measurement. First, a brief review of measurements based on monetary and nutritional norms is presented. Then, it is suggested that data on the proportion spent on food (PSF) by per capita expenditure can be exploited to measure the incidence of deprivation and the incidence of poverty. It is postulated that until the food needs are satisfied, people spend relatively more of their incremental income on food and this behaviour reveals itself as increasing or invariant PSF as income (or expenditure) increases up to a critical level. The proportion of people up to that critical level are deprived of the required food and the proportion constitutes the incidence of deprivation. The average expenditure at the deprivation point (the PSF level from where its decline is clear-cut and smooth) can be used to develop an arbitrary poverty line. Data for rural India are used to illustrate the measurement of deprivation and poverty.     

Does poverty constrain migration in South Africa? Evidence,explanations and implications

There are indications that poor people may face obstacles to their rural–urban migration. This article pursues the question of whether this is the case in the South African context. It argues for the importance of longitudinal data, which are not available at present, to answer this question conclusively. Levels of education can be used as a proxy for income levels, and the article examines recently published multivariate data in this regard. However, using education as a proxy for income is problematic, because education has an independent effect on migration rates through its selection of those with the skill levels demanded by the labour market. The article develops an argument about the constraining effects of the costs of migration and the role of social networks in migration and ends by demonstrating how the costs of migration can solve a number of puzzles presented by empirical research on migration.     

Remittances and relative concerns in rural China

The paper investigates the impact of remittances on the relative concerns of households in rural China. Using the Rural to Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) dataset we estimate a series of subjective well-being functions to simultaneously explore relative concerns with respect to income and remittances. Our results show that although rural households experience substantial welfare loss due to income comparisons, they gain well-being by comparing their remittances with those received by their reference group. In other words, we find evidence of a “status effect” with respect to income and of a “signal effect” of similar magnitude with respect to remittances. This finding is robust to various specifications, alternative reference group definitions, controls for the endogeneity of remittances and selective migration, as well as the use of migrants' net contribution to household income.