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Working Conditions and Job Satisfaction of China's New Generation of Migrant Workers: Evidence from an Inland City

Author

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  • Wang, Huashu

    (Guizhou University)

  • Pan, Lei

    (Wageningen University)

  • Heerink, Nico

    (Wageningen University)

Abstract

China is experiencing notable changes in rural-urban migration. Young, more educated migrants with different attitudes towards living and working form an increasing share of the migrant labour force. At the same time, the destinations of migrants are changing as a result of government policies and the global financial crisis. More migrants than before find jobs in medium and small size cities, often located in western and central China. Understanding the characteristics and attitudes of the changing migrant labour force is becoming a major challenge in sustainably managing migration flows and urbanization. Little hard evidence is available on the working conditions and job attitudes of migrant workers, particularly for inland China. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the characteristics, working conditions and job attitudes of the new generation of migrants, defined as those born in the 1980s and 1990s, as compared to the traditional generation in a typical medium-size city in western China. Data collected through a household survey conducted among 1,048 migrants in Guiyang City, capital of Guizhou Province, are used for this purpose. We find significant differences in occupational characteristics and working conditions between the two generations. Contrary to popular beliefs, we find that the level of job satisfaction is higher among the new generation of migrants. Using an ordered logit model to examine factors contributing to job satisfaction, we find that age and gender do not have a significant impact for young migrants, while working conditions play a major role. Among these, it is not so much the income level that matters for young migrants, but other working conditions. Using a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, we derive that it is mainly the difference in working conditions and other endowments that explains the higher job satisfaction of young migrants, not the differences between generations in the valuations of these endowments.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Huashu & Pan, Lei & Heerink, Nico, 2013. "Working Conditions and Job Satisfaction of China's New Generation of Migrant Workers: Evidence from an Inland City," IZA Discussion Papers 7405, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7405
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Peng Nie & Lanlin Ding & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2020. "What Chinese Workers Value: An Analysis of Job Satisfaction, Job Expectations, and Labour Turnover in China," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2020(1), pages 85-104.
    2. Xing Zhang & Micha Kaiser & Peng Nie & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2019. "Why are Chinese workers so unhappy? A comparative cross-national analysis of job satisfaction, job expectations, and job attributes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Zhiming Cheng & Haining Wang & Russell Smyth, 2014. "Happiness and job satisfaction in urban China: A comparative study of two generations of migrants and urban locals," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(10), pages 2160-2184, August.
    4. Jiangang Shi & Wenwen Hua & Daizhong Tang & Fang Liu, 2022. "Sustainable Community Transformation and Community Integration of Agricultural Transfer Population—A Case Study from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Wei Li & Jianxun Chen & Hans Hendrischke, 2017. "An Institutional Perspective on Individual Work Well-Being: Evidence from China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 187-218, May.
    6. Binbin Li & Zengyu Mi & Zhenghe Zhang, 2020. "Willingness of the New Generation of Farmers to Participate in Rural Tourism: The Role of Perceived Impacts and Sense of Place," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-25, January.
    7. Xiong, Ailun & Li, Hongyi & Westlund, Hans & Pu, Yongjian, 2017. "Social networks, job satisfaction and job searching behavior in the Chinese labor market," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-15.
    8. Pamela Lenton & Lu Yin, 2016. "The Educational Success of China’s Young Generation of Rural-to-Urban Migrants," Working Papers 2016007, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migrant workers; new generation; working conditions; job satisfaction; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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