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Boosting rural labor off-farm employment through urban expansion in China

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  • Sheng, Yu
  • Zhao, Yuhan
  • Zhang, Qian
  • Dong, Wanlu
  • Huang, Jikun

Abstract

Rural development is widely believed to interact with the structural transformation, but little is known about how this happens in developing countries. This paper explores the impact of structural transformation on rural development through the length of analyzing the role of urban growth in creating off-farm employment for rural labor in China. By combining five waves of farm surveys for 1,234 households for the period of 2000–2018 with a newly constructed urban gravity index for 370 cities, we show that rapid urban growth in China has significantly contributed to rural development by increasing off-farm employment for rural labor by 47–71 million since 2000. Moreover, the positive impact started with the emergence of a few large metropolitan cities but ended with the growth of local, relatively small cities, suggesting the interaction between structural transformation and rural development is at a nationwide level.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheng, Yu & Zhao, Yuhan & Zhang, Qian & Dong, Wanlu & Huang, Jikun, 2022. "Boosting rural labor off-farm employment through urban expansion in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:151:y:2022:i:c:s0305750x21003429
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105727
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    2. Caiyao Xu & Chen Qian & Wencai Yang & Bowei Li & Lingqian Kong & Fanbin Kong, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Pattern of Urban-Rural Integration Development and Its Driving Mechanism Analysis in Hangzhou Bay Urban Agglomeration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-21, July.
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    4. Xia Tian & Yinying Cai & Qing Yang & Jin Xie, 2023. "How Do Heterogeneous Land Development Opportunities Affect Rural Household Nonfarm Employment: A Perspective of Spatial Regulation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-16, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rural development and structural transformation; urban gravity index; rural off-farm employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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