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Does Migration Income Help Hometown Business? Evidences from Rural Households Survey in China

Author

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  • Jialu Liu

    (Allegheny College)

Abstract

This empirical study examines effects of household migration income on non-farm business in rural China. The restrictions on labor mobility in China were loosened after the economic reform in 1978. As a result, more and more rural households have family members engaging in temporary migration, working and living between rural home and urban areas, which forms a large "floating" population of migrant workers. The income migrant workers bringing home provides a vital capital resource for the credit deprived rural areas, and hence strongly promotes hometown non-farm business. This paper raises three questions: first, how does migration income affect the probability that rural households will start non-farm business? Second, how does migration income impact the probability that rural households will remain in non-farm business after starting up? Third, whether and how much does migration income increase non-farm business income? The findings indicate that migration income not only raises the probability of starting and remaining in non-farm business, but also increases non-farm business income. The empirical results in this paper confirm that, for financially constrained rural households in China, migration income offers a valuable capital resource and facilitates the development of diverse business operation in rural China.

Suggested Citation

  • Jialu Liu, 2010. "Does Migration Income Help Hometown Business? Evidences from Rural Households Survey in China," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(4), pages 2598-2611.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-10-00461
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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2010/Volume30/EB-10-V30-I4-P240.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yuyu Chen & Ginger Zhe Jin & Yang Yue, 2024. "Peer Migration in China," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 86(2), pages 257-313, April.

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    JEL classification:

    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General

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