Intra-metropolitan shifts in labor demand and the adjustment of local markets

I offer new evidence on the adjustment of local labor markets to geographic shifts in labor demand within US metropolitan areas using a unique data set in which metropolitan subregions are geographically matched across the 1970–1980 and 1980–1990 decades. The evidence uncovered paints the following picture. Workers, especially those with less education, make incomplete adjustments within metropolitan areas in response to intra-metropolitan demand shifts. Although blacks may not make especially limited adjustments, they have disproportionately suffered deleterious effects from job movements because the demand shifts have tended to be away from their places of residence.     

中国农村住户参与转移就业的影响因素分析

根据2002年度全国农村住户抽样调查数据,当年农村劳动力转移就业比例达40%左右,转移农户占全部农村住户的比例达70%左右。农户对转移就业的参与概率随初始收入的提高而不断提高,至初始收入达到很高的水平之后开始下降;较多的土地资源不利于农户参与转移就业,但对农户参与就地转移的负面影响要小于异地转移;较多的农业固定资产不利于农户参与异地转移,而较多的非农业固定资产有利于其参与就地转移;家庭人口特征、社会资本等因素也会对农户参与转移就业产生影响。     

Transaction costs and recorded remittances in the post-Soviet economies: Evidence from a new dataset on bilateral flows

Labour migrants' remittances are a rapidly growing phenomenon in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The size and growth of remittances in the countries of the recipients brought the issue under the scrutiny of researchers and policymakers. In this paper we investigate the main factors behind the growing volume of remittances in the post-Soviet space. By applying panel data techniques we found that a reduction in transaction costs and a depreciation of the currency in the host country were the main factors that influenced the growth of recorded remittances. The size of transaction costs remains a significant predictor of the volume of formal remittances, even after correcting for endogeneity using an instrumental variable estimator. The inverse relationship between transaction costs and recorded remittances suggests that migrants switch from informal channels to formal channels to send remittances when costs are low. Thus lower transaction costs may help curb the proportion of informal flows and lead to increased use of remittances in the formal economy.     

"民工荒"现象的劳动经济学分析

文章首先简述“民工荒”现象，然后运用劳动经济学中有关理论对“民工荒”现象背后的真正原因做了深入分析，最后从三个层面提出了解决这一问题的对策建议。     

Migration and rural poverty in China

We analyze two complementary household datasets from China's poor areas to examine whether the poor migrate and whether migration helps the poor. We find an inverted-U-shaped relationship between household endowments and the likelihood of migration. Over time, the poor are more likely to migrate. Using household panel data and taking prior village migration networks as an instrument, we find that having a migrant increases a household's income per capita by 8.5 to 13.1 percent, but that the overall impact on poverty is modest because most poor people do not migrate. Migrants remit a large share of their income and the amount of these remittances is responsive somewhat to the needs of other family members. Journal of Comparative Economics 33 (4) (2005) 688–709.     

Barriers to immigration and the dynamics of emigration

In a dynamic model of emigration and return migration I examine the role of migration costs in the process of capital accumulation of the source country. Every migration attempt reduces the amount of savings available for capital accumulation. It contributes, however, to an increase in the per-capita capital stock of the source country if the migrants leave some of their capital behind or decide to return and repatriate accumulated savings. The interaction among these flows governs the evolution of the economy’s capital stock and factor rewards, which in turn affects the decisions to emigrate and return migrate. Both the quantitative and qualitative effects of host-country policies and other disturbances on the key macroeconomic variables of the source country are found to depend on the level of migration costs.     

从开放宏观的视角看环境污染问题:一个综述

在全球化背景下,伴随着国际间的要素流动,环境问题越来越多地被赋予了全球化的内容。本文将环境与增长、环境与贸易、环境与就业、环境与人口迁移等研究文献纳入到一个开放宏观分析框架中,通过文献研究发现,国际分工使"南—北"之间存在了多纬度的"环境不平等":首先,环境与经济增长问题先后经历了三个发展阶段,即罗马俱乐部提出的"增长极限说"、环境库兹涅茨曲线假说、贸易与环境库兹涅茨曲线假说相关性的争论。随着研究的推进,环境与增长问题越来越类似于一枚硬币的两面,难以同时兼得,但是,由于国际分工模式的差异,发展中国家却为发达国家提供了"污染储藏地"。其次,虽然环境规制使企业损失了部分"棕色"就业,但是环境保护同样能够创造"绿色"就业,然而,在国际分工背景下,环境保护是否有利于发展中国家的整体就业还存在着争议。最后,环境恶化已经导致一些国家出现了"环境难民"以及随之而来的人口迁移。到2050年,全世界由气候变化引起的人口迁移很可能达到5千万至7亿。然而,穷国和富国的环境压力和迁移能力却不尽相同,从某种程度上,这也是国际分工产生的间接影响,但是,关于这一问题的研究还十分有限。     

State fiscal institutions and empty-nest migration: Are Tiebout voters hobbled?

Using the Health and Retirement Study and a national panel of local fiscal data, we test a lifecycle model of Tiebout sorting. On average, cross-state, empty-nest movers—presumed to be out of fiscal equilibrium—experience large fiscal gains in the form of reduced exposure to local school spending and property taxes, while local empty-nest movers experience no fiscal adjustment. We find evidence that within-state fiscal adjustment is constrained by state institutions that limit local discretion. Empty-nest households moving within states with school finance equalization do not engage in Tiebout-consistent fiscal adjustment, while those moving within states lacking school finance equalization adjust substantially.     

Virtual Special Issue on Migration

This editorial introduces a virtual special issue of Spatial Economic Analysis compiled to mark the keynote lecture at the 46th Annual Conference of the Regional Science Association International—British and Irish Section in Cornwall by Professor Jacques Poot of the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis, University of Waikato. Professor Poot's lecture on migration, which is also the theme of this virtual special issue, could not be more topical. Migration is a central issue in public discourse in Europe and the United States, and is setting the agenda for political debate throughout the developed world. The ongoing refugee crisis in Europe, the associated rise in populist, nationalist political movements in Europe and the United States, and the recent vote by the UK to leave the European Union all have migration at their centre.     

中国的永久移民

中国的户口制度阻碍了农村居民向城市的迁移。然而,农村居民仍能通过接受较好的教育、提干或参军等方式获得城市户口。利用2002年的大样本调查,我们发现永久移民的数量大约为1亿,约占现今城市居民的20%。与留在农村的农民相比,永久移民的经济状况得到了很大的改善。成为永久移民的概率与父母教育水平、汉族身份、父母党员身份等正相关。永久移民的经济状况与获得户口时的年龄有关。较年轻时就获得户口的永久移民的收入要高于城市原住民,较晚获得户口的永久移民的收入则要低于城市原住民。尽管大部分永久移民成功地融入了城市生活,但那些通过非职业途径获得户口的永久移民,却远非如此。