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Unemployment and labor force participation in urban China

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  • Liu, Qian

Abstract

This paper serves to document and analyze the employment and the labor market changes in urban China since the late 1980s. High and sustained GDP growth rates in China have paradoxically been accompanied by increasing unemployment rates and decreasing labor force participation rates. Using national representative micro data, estimations from logit models show that age, education, communist-party membership and marital status are significantly associated with participation in the labor force and employment opportunities, and the impacts of education and party membership have increased over time. An extension of the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition finds little of the observed male–female differentials attributable to differences in characteristics such as age or education but to coefficient effects, a possible reflection of discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Qian, 2012. "Unemployment and labor force participation in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 18-33.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:23:y:2012:i:1:p:18-33
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2011.07.008
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    2. Fu, Shihe & Liao, Yu & Zhang, Junfu, 2016. "The effect of housing wealth on labor force participation: Evidence from China," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 59-69.
    3. Cao, Jing & Ho, Mun S. & Hu, Wenhao & Jorgenson, Dale, 2020. "Effective labor supply and growth outlook in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
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    5. Jose Miguel Albala-Bertrand, 2013. "Evolution of Structural Indicators. China and Regions: 1981-2010," Working Papers 701, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    6. Xiaobo He & Rong Zhu, 2016. "Fertility and Female Labour Force Participation: Causal Evidence from Urban China," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 84(5), pages 664-674, September.
    7. Wolf-Heimo Grieben & Fuat Sener, 2012. "North-South Trade, Unemployment and Growth: What’s the Role of Labor Unions?," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2012-06, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    8. Gustafsson, Björn & LI, Shi & Sato, Hiroshi, 2014. "Data for studying earnings, the distribution of household income and poverty in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 419-431.
    9. Feng, Shuaizhang & Hu, Yingyao & Moffitt, Robert, 2017. "Long run trends in unemployment and labor force participation in urban China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 304-324.
    10. Shuaizhang Feng & Yingyao Hu & Robert Moffitt, 2015. "Long Run Trends in Unemployment and Labor Force Participation in China," NBER Working Papers 21460, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Moens, Eline & De Pessemier, Dyllis & Baert, Stijn, 2024. "How Do Recruiters Assess Applicants Who Express a Political Engagement?," IZA Discussion Papers 16730, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Nor Amna A’liah Mohd Nor & Rusmawati Said, 2014. "Malaysia's Labour Force Participation in Rural and Urban Areas," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 4(10), pages 1461-1472, October.
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    15. Lin Xiu & Morley Gunderson, 2013. "Credential Effects and the Returns to Education in China," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 27(2), pages 225-248, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Urban labor market; China; Labor force; Employment; Unemployment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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