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The educational and labor market consequences of teenage exposure to rural land decollectivization in China

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  • Hu, Zhi-An
  • Huang, Wei
  • Luo, Wei
  • You, Wuyue
  • Zhang, Chuanchuan

Abstract

China's land decollectivization reform implemented around 1980 expanded the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors in rural areas and thereby increased the opportunity cost of schooling for teenagers. Combining the staggered adoption of the reform across regions with individual life history data, we show that teenagers substituted out of school and into agricultural and nonagricultural work following the reform. Using population census data, we further show that teenage exposure to the reform reduced the probability of completing high school by 2.0–2.2 percentage points, the probability of nonagricultural employment by 1.5–1.6 percentage points, and income by 3.6–4.7 percent.

Suggested Citation

  • Hu, Zhi-An & Huang, Wei & Luo, Wei & You, Wuyue & Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2024. "The educational and labor market consequences of teenage exposure to rural land decollectivization in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:228:y:2024:i:c:s0167268124003858
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106771
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land reform; Decollectivization; Education; Employment; Income;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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