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Types of employment and well-being of rural residents: A multinomial endogenous switching regression application

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  • Ma, Wanglin
  • Zheng, Hongyun
  • Boansi, David
  • Horlu, Godwin S.A.K.
  • Owusu, Victor

Abstract

This study examines how participation in different types of employment affects rural residents' well-being, measured by household income and life satisfaction. Unlike previous studies that only consider binary employment status, we measure three employment types (pure farm work, mixed work, and pure non-farm work). Using the Chinese Social Survey data, we employ a multinomial endogenous switching regression model to address selection bias issues due to observed and unobserved heterogeneities and estimate the treatment effects simultaneously. The results suggest that relative to pure farm work, participation in pure non-farm work and mixed work significantly increases rural residents' well-being by increasing household income and life satisfaction. We also find that the income and life satisfaction enhancing effects of participation in pure non-farm work and mixed work (relative to participation in pure farm work) are generally larger for males (relative to females). These findings enrich our understanding of rural residents' employment choices. Rural development programs should consider helping pure farm workers (especially rural women) to participate in mixed and non-farm work to maximize rural residents’ well-being and boost sustainable rural development.

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  • Ma, Wanglin & Zheng, Hongyun & Boansi, David & Horlu, Godwin S.A.K. & Owusu, Victor, 2025. "Types of employment and well-being of rural residents: A multinomial endogenous switching regression application," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:147:y:2025:i:c:s0264999325000422
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2025.107047
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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy

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