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Institutional dynamics and access to non‐farm employment in rural China, 1950–1996

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  • Bingdao Zheng
  • Yanfeng Gu

Abstract

This article examines non‐farm employment in the context of Chinese rural institutional change, based on evidence from discrete‐time logistic models for event history analysis using the Life History and Social Change survey. We find the transition to non‐farm sector rose rapidly during the Great Leap Forward and market reform, while the Cultural Revolution saw it reach the lowest ebb. While male advantage prevailed exclusively during the Cultural Revolution and early marketization, education possessed a stable positive effect in all historical periods. Although the returns to different kinds of political capital vary along with institutional dynamics, intergenerational reproduction was greatly reduced after the Cultural Revolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Bingdao Zheng & Yanfeng Gu, 2022. "Institutional dynamics and access to non‐farm employment in rural China, 1950–1996," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 265-289, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ozechr:v:62:y:2022:i:3:p:265-289
    DOI: 10.1111/aehr.12252
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