Employment constraints and sub-optimality in Chinese enterprises

In China the employment of rural migrants is tightly controlledby government, with regard both to numbers and to jobs: urbanresidents receive preference and are protected against competitionfrom migrants. A survey of enterprises employing both urbanresidents and rural migrants in four cities is analysed, usingenterprise-level earnings comparisons, employment functionsand production functions. We find both 'job discrimination'and 'wage discrimination' against migrants. The two groups arehighly imperfect substitutes or, in a sense, complementary:migrants do the jobs that non-migrants will nor or cannot do.The marginal product of migrants exceeds their wage whereasthat of non-migrants is below their wage. Although many enterpriseshave surplus urban workers, they find it beneficial to hiremigrant workers as well and are constrained in their employmentof migrants.     

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。     

The puzzle of migrant labour shortage and rural labour surplus in China

The paper examines the contentious issue of the extent of surplus labour that remains in China. China was an extreme example of a surplus labour economy, but the rapid economic growth during the period of economic reform requires a reassessment of whether the second stage of the Lewis model has been reached or is imminent. The literature is inconclusive. On the one hand, there are reports of migrant labour scarcity and rising migrant wages; on the other hand, estimates suggest that a considerable pool of relatively unskilled labour is still available in the rural sector. Yet the answer has far-reaching developmental and distributional implications. After reviewing the literature, the paper uses the 2002 and 2007 national household surveys of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to analyse and explain migrant wage behaviour, to predict the determinants of migration, and to examine the size and nature of the pool of potential rural–urban migrants. An attempt is also made to project the rural and urban labour force and migration forward to 2020, on the basis of the 2005 1% Population Survey. The paper concludes that for institutional reasons both phenomena are likely to coexist at present and for some time in the future.     

农村劳动力回流、就业选择与农地转出——基于千村调查的经验研究

农村劳动力回流趋势增强,不可避免对农地流转产生影响。文章在理论层面深入剖析了回流劳动力的就业选择与农地转出关系,并采用上海财经大学"千村调查"的数据资料,实证检验了农村劳动力回流特征变化和回流劳动力就业选择对农地转出的影响。研究发现,受非农就业不稳定的推力作用和与家人团聚的拉力作用,越来越多的外出劳动力选择回流,西部外出劳动力回流率最高,达到47.2%。回流劳动力的农地转出率普遍高于非回流劳动力的农地转出率,回流劳动力从事非农生产的就业选择对农地转出存在促进效应,而兼业和务农的选择对农地转出存在抑制效应,这意味着回流农村劳动力并非一定会选择农业生产,也可能选择在更小的地理半径内从事非农就业,并且长期外出从事技术工的经历进一步增强了劳动力回流对农地转出的抑制效应。虽然回流劳动力更倾向非农就业,但回流劳动力规模的扩大,使得兼业和纯务农的比例增加,对农地转出的抑制效应呈增强趋势。研究还发现,个人特征、家庭因素、社会网络也是影响劳动力就业选择和农地转出的重要因素,基层政府和地方政府在推动非农就业的政策合力上存在部分抵消,对农地转出产生了抑制作用。文章为农地流转进程缓慢提供了新的解释,推进农地流转需要关注农村劳动力流动特征新变化,同时兼顾各层级政策目标的衔接性。     

乡城移民的乡土文化认同及其影响机制——基于全国流动人口监测数据的分析

基于2014年全国流动人口动态监测八城市社会融合数据,文章分析了影响乡城移民乡土文化认同的三种机制：市民化、社会排斥与乡土联结。结果表明,总体上,三种作用机制共同影响了乡城移民的乡土文化认同。其中市民化机制降低了移民的乡土文化认同,而社会排斥机制则提高了移民的乡土文化认同,与家乡的互动联系也提高了移民的乡土文化认同。进一步的分析发现,不同市民化能力的移民,其乡土文化认同的影响机制存在一定差异。     

对统筹新疆城乡就业问题的探讨

党的十六届三中全会明确提出了“五个统筹”，其中，统筹城乡就业不仅是统筹城乡发展的重要内容，而且也贯穿于其他几个重要统筹之中。当前，扩大内需、维护社会和谐稳定、缩小城乡差别、改善民生等都对统筹城乡就业提出了现实的要求和全新的内涵。本文在就业与统筹城乡发展提出的背景下，对新疆城乡居民就业现状进行了分析，同时指出了统筹城乡就业的政策障碍，在此基础上提出了统筹新疆城乡就业的政策建议。     

A comparison of the migration process to an urban barrio and to a rural community: two case studies

The results of 2 case studies on migration in Colombia are outlined and compared. The 1st study examines inmigration to a shantytown, El Carmen, in Bogota. The 2nd study involves inmigration to a community in the eastern interior of Colombia, Granada. Migrants' motives, paths of migration, and personal characteristics are examined, suggesting hypotheses for future studies. Economic reasons were most often listed as motives for moving by both the residents of Granada and El Carmen. The type of economic motives varied greatly between the 2 communities. Reasons such as "looking for land," "establishing a business," or "to find a better life" ranked high in importance among Granada residents. These motives, along with the flight from violence, indicate that the independence provided by land and small business affords the inmigrants to Granada a certain security. Inmigrants to El Carmen were seeking employment. Only 34% of the migrants to El Carmen made 1 or more moves before settling in Bogota. 90% of the rural to rural migrants made 1 or more stops before moving to Granada. 68% of the migrants to El Carmen were born within 100 miles of Bogota while only 18% of the migrants to Granada were born within a 100 mile radius of the community. The usual pattern of the migrant to Granada was to move to a neighboring village, town, or city regardless of whether it was closer to Granada or not. The majority of inmigrants to Granada moved from distances greater than 100 miles. Over 70% of the inmigrants were born in towns and villages of more than 2000 population. If a nucleus of 10,000 inhabitants or more are considered urban, then 46% of the rural to rural migrants resided in urban areas prior to moving to Granada. This suggests that a sizable proportion of the migration to Granada is really urban to rural frontier. Studies done in Colombia and Brazil indicate that migrants to rural areas have a lower educational level than migrants to urban areas. Data from El Carmen and Granada gives similar results. 20% of the migrant residents of El Carmen have a primary school education (5 years) compared with only 7% of the inmigrants to Granada. 81% of the migrant residents of El Carmen were in their teens, 20s, and 30s at the time of migration, while only 52% of the inmigrants to Granada were in the same category. Approximately 56% of the inmigrants to Granada were in the occupational categories of farm owner operator and farm renter or laborer as compared to only approximately 40% of the inmigrants to El Carmen. The data indicate that a majority of the shantytown inmigrants come directly from small communities and travel short distances to Bogota. This is consistent with other findings of rural to urban migration. It is hypothesized that the socioeconomic level of migrants in a certain migratory stream is related to the perceived opportunity in the receiving area.     

Impact of Childcare and Eldercare on Off‐farm Activities in Rural China

Using individual data collected in rural China and adopting Heckman's two‐step function, we examined the impact of childcare and eldercare on laborers' off‐farm activities. Our study finds that having school‐aged children has a negative impact on rural laborers' migration decisions and a positive impact on their decision to work in the local off‐farm employment market. As grandparents can help to take care of young children, the impact of preschoolers is insignificant. Having elderly family to care for decreases the income earned by female members of the family. Although both men and women are actively engaged in off‐farm employment today in rural China, this study shows that women are still the primary care providers for both children and the elderly. Therefore, reforming public school enrollment and high school/college entrance examination systems so that migrant children can stay with their parents, this will help rural laborers to migrate to cities. The present study also calls for more public services for preschoolers and the elderly in rural China.     

两类外来人口的劳动合同签订与社会保险获得差异

近期的城市外来人口社会保障缺失研究把持有非本地城市户口的外来市民纳入观察对象,城乡分割因素的解释范围缩小到外来市民与外来农民工这两类外来人口参与社会保险差异上来。为在这一方向上深化研究,本文首先考察城市劳动制度转型过程,揭示农民工的劳动合同制度缺位问题;在此基础上分析户籍身份、劳动合同订立与社会保险获取之间的关系,提出研究假设;选取抽样调查数据,做相应的实证分析;最后形成结论并提出政策启示。     

基于城乡一体化的我国农村土地市场发展创新研究

通过市场机制配置土地已成为世界各国通行的做法,相比城市国有土地市场的发展,农村集体土地市场发育缓慢,在城乡土地市场二元性、土地二级市场受到主体和用途限制、土地三级市场相对缺失的背景下逐渐凸显一些新问题。建议明确农村土地产权、突破农村土地用途限制、完善市场要件、培育二、三级市场,逐步建立城乡统一、平等、有序的土地市场。     

政府推动的就近城镇化能够消除工资歧视吗

随着大中城市城镇化空间的逐渐饱和以及农民工回流现象的出现,就近城镇化成为推进我国新型城镇化进程的重要模式。文章基于2017年中国流动人口动态监测调查(CMDS)数据,研究政府推动的就近城镇化对农村劳动力工资收入的影响发现:政府通过征地、户口改革方式推动的就近城镇化并不能够消除工资歧视,实现就近城镇化的农村劳动力在其他条件相同的情况下其工资水平仍然低于城镇本地职工,这一结论在纠正自选择偏差和样本选择偏差后仍然成立。机制分析发现,城镇劳动力市场针对实现就近城镇化的农村劳动力在就业机会方面的歧视与隔离已不明显,同工不同酬成为实现就近城镇化者面临的主要歧视形式,而城乡劳动力之间教育回报率的差异是导致同工不同酬的主要原因。进一步讨论发现,就近城镇化对于农村劳动力参保城镇职工保险具有显著的提升作用,而自我雇佣的就业形式则有助于打破城镇劳动力市场对农村劳动力的收入歧视。文章拓展研究了就近城镇化对农村劳动力工资收入的影响,为政府进一步推进以县域城镇化为主要形式的就近城镇化提供了研究参考。未来应持续推进城乡基本公共服务均等化,进一步缩小城乡教育质量差异,加强农村劳动力"同工同酬"的保护力度,稳步推进农村劳动力的就近城镇化。     

整理农村宅基地启动农村土地资本化运作探析

我国城乡二元结构现状严重,发展农村经济迫在眉睫。农村土地这一极具配置能力的资源被闲置或低水平利用,严重制约我国农村经济发展。通过整理农村宅基地启动农村土地资本化,既实现农村土地集约化,又推动农民转变落后的生产方式以及粗放式经济发展模式,提高农民收入水平。本文探析了该模式的依据、意义、具体运作及保障机制。保障该模式的机制有:深化农村土地制度的改革,加强城乡劳动力就业一体化,完善招商引资机制。     

Where are the migrants from? Inter- vs. intra-provincial rural-urban migration in China

Using a representative sample of rural migrants in cities, this paper investigates where the migrants in urban China come from, paying close attention to intra-provincial vs. inter-provincial migrants, and examining the differences in their personal attributes. We find that migrants who have come from within the province differ significantly from those who have come from outside of the province. Using a nested logit model, we find that overall, higher wage differentials, larger population size, higher GDP per capita, and faster employment growth rate are the attributes of a city that attract rural-to-urban migrants. In addition, moving beyond one's home province has a strong deterrent effect on migration, analogous to the “border effect” identified in international migration studies. We also explore the role of culture, institutional barriers, and dialect in explaining such a pronounced “border effect”.     

Contrasting paradigms: segmentation and competitiveness in the formation of the chinese labour market

An urban labour market is in the process of being formed in China. The objective of this paper is to analyse the stage that it has reached. A 1999 household survey is used to investigate whether the labour market has three tiers comprised of recently retrenched and re-employed urban workers, non-retrenched urban workers, and rural–urban migrants. It tests whether wage levels and structures differ across these categories of worker. Panel data are used to model the evolution of the wage structure and, specifically, the impact of retrenchment and re-employment. The results indicate that non-retrenched urban workers enjoy a wage premium, although migrants receive similar returns to education. Re-employed workers receive no return to education and appear to have lost out on the wage rises enjoyed by the non-retrenched. There is evidence to suggest that the urban labour market is segmented into these categories, which differ in their openness to market competition. The urban labour market has a long way to go before it is fully competitive.     

Expropriation with hukou change and labour market outcomes in China

We study the labour market outcomes of Chinese household members changing their registration status (hukou) from rural to urban as a result of land expropriation using panel data from the 2008–2010 Rural Urban Migration in China (RUMiC). While it is largely unclear the extent to which expropriation can be viewed as an event exogenous to individual and household choices, we deal with the potential selection bias of being expropriated by using the methodology proposed by Oster (2019). Gaining an urban hukou is found to improve the labour market outcomes of expropriated household heads and spouses relative to comparable rural stayers and rural-urban migrants. In particular, hukou-changers gain better access to permanent jobs in the public sector through formal search channels. We also find that expropriated parents invest substantially more in children's human capital as compared to rural parents, suggesting that leveling the hukou status among children can contribute to reducing intergenerational inequality.     

非农就业提高农村居民幸福感了吗？

农村劳动力非农转移已经成为常态,对农村居民的福利水平产生了深远影响。文章基于体验效用假设,构建了工农要素流动下农村居民的幸福函数,并基于2018年中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)农村调研数据,实证分析了非农就业影响农村居民幸福感的效应、机制与情境。结果表明:非农就业在总体上促进了农村居民幸福感提升,但却存在一定的"伊斯特林悖论"关系,即短期非农就业能够显著促进幸福增长,但长期非农就业对幸福增长的促进作用是有限的,甚至出现停滞或反向抑制状态;其内在机制主要在于非农就业过程中农村居民的需求层次逐渐由生存需要转向尊重和自我实现需要,但长期非农就业并不能显著提升外出务工农村居民的社会地位感知;非农就业对农村居民幸福感的促进效应,在本地非农就业和跨省流动的就业情境下更为显著,在女性群体、高中层次受教育程度群体中相对更高,且伴随农村居民的年龄增长呈现边际递减规律。基于此,文章提出创造本地就业市场、关注非农劳动力的就业需求变化、加强非农就业劳动力职业技能培训等针对性政策启示。     

失地农民就业问题的经济学思考

随着我国经济的快速发展,在项目建设中政府征用了大量的土地,由于农村的社会保障体系不完善,农民失去了惟一的保障途径——土地,导致大量失地农民转化为城市贫民。而且随着城市化建设力度的加大,土地征用仍然不可避免,失地农民队伍将越来越大,失地农民的生活和出路问题也会越来越多。所以失地农民就业问题已经成为政府及经济学界亟待研究的重点课题。本文针对我国失地农民就业问题进行了经济学分析。     

China's urban poor – Comparing twice poverty between residents and migrants in 2013 and 2018

Using data from the China Household Income Project in 2013 and 2018, this paper studies relative poverty among rural hukou holders living in urban China and urban hukou holders. People living in households with an income below a fixed percent of the median per-capita income and wealth below the same fixed percent of the median per-capita wealth among urban residents are deemed as relative poor. Although migrants with rural hukou living in urban China were more prone to twice poverty than urban residents in 2013, this was not generally the case in 2018.A multivariate analysis shows several factors to be related to the probability of being twice relative poor. Even considering these factors, a rural hukou status increased the probability of being twice relative poor in 2013. In contrast, such an excess risk of being twice relative poor was much lesser outspoken in middle and low-ranking cities in 2018. However, rural to urban migrants living in high-ranking cities had a somewhat higher risk of being relative poor than urban residents with the same characteristics in 2018.     

China''s land arrangements and rural labor mobility

Chinese farm families under the Household Responsibility System have the land use-rights but not the rights of alienation. If permanently leaving agriculture, they have to return the land to local authorities and consequently give up a stream of future land earnings. This paper analyzes the deterrent effect of this land arrangement on labor mobility by constructing a household model which considers both part-time farming and permanent migration decisions. The implications of the model are consistent with the recent Chinese experience of rural floating population in cities and the rapid growth of rural nonagricultural employment.     

Can self-employment activity contribute to ascension to urban citizenship? Evidence from rural-to-urban migrant workers in China

The ascension to urban citizenship and assimilation into urban life for rural to urban migrant workers is a pressing mission during the current process of rapid urbanization in developing China. However, the issue of how self-employed migrants, who account for up to 25 percent of total migrant workers in 2009 (Meng, 2012), acquire urban citizenship remains understudied. Using a unique sample from the 2009 Rural to Urban Migrants in China (RUMiC) survey, this paper explores whether self-employment choice contributes to migrant workers' ascension to urban citizenship and integration, and uncovers the underlying mechanisms. We find that although self-employed migrants are capable of earning a higher income, and improving their living conditions, their tendency to reside permanently in the city is not significantly different from their counterparts of wage workers. We argue that self-employed migrants, who are less covered by urban social securities and are more discriminated against by current urban household registration (Hukou) system, tend to lose faith in ascension to urban citizenship. It implies that a social security system with self-employed migrants being covered as well as an urban Hukou admission system favoring diverse human capital (especially taking into account entrepreneurship) would help accelerate the urbanization process.