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Evolution of the Chinese rural-urban migrant labor market from 2002 to 2007

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  • Zhaopeng Frank Qu
  • Zhong Zhao

Abstract

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamic change of the migrant labor market in China from 2002 to 2007 using two comparable data sets. Design/methodology/approach - – To understand the factors behind the wage change, the authors use the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition (Oaxaca, 1973; Blinder, 1973) method to study the hourly wage change over this five-year period. Findings - – The focus is on the rural-urban migration decision, the wage structure of migrants, the labor market segmentation between migrants and urban natives, and the changes of these aspects from 2002 to 2007. The paper finds that prior migration experience is a key factor for the migration decision of rural household members, and its importance keeps increasing from 2002 to 2007. The results show that there is a significant increase in wages among both migrants and urban natives over this five-year period, but migrants have enjoyed faster wage growth, and most of the increase of wages among migrants can be attributed to the increase of returns to their characteristics. The authors also find evidence suggesting convergence of urban labor markets for migrants and for urban natives during this five-year period. Research limitations/implications - – In order to make the 2002 and 2007 data sets comparable, the authors had to restrict the observations with fixed residence only, and can only include seven cities. These limit the representativeness of the sample. When interpret the findings in this paper, it is important to keep this in mind. Originality/value - – Due to the scarcity of data, there are few studies on the dynamics of the migrating population and the migrant labor market. Since the urban natives and migrants are still segmented in the labor market, the migrant labor market may have its own characteristics, and also, because of the increasing importance of the migrants in Chinese society, knowledge of the evolution of the migrant labor market is crucial for grasping the whole story behind the Chinese economic miracle.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhaopeng Frank Qu & Zhong Zhao, 2014. "Evolution of the Chinese rural-urban migrant labor market from 2002 to 2007," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(2), pages 316-334, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:caerpp:v:6:y:2014:i:2:p:316-334
    DOI: 10.1108/CAER-10-2012-0113
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Yaohui Zhao, 2003. "The Role of Migrant Networks in Labor Migration: The Case of China," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 21(4), pages 500-511, October.
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    11. Xin Meng & Chris Manning & Li Shi & Tadjuddin Nur Effendi (ed.), 2010. "The Great Migration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13619.
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    Cited by:

    1. He Zhu, 2018. "Why People Leave Their Rural Hometown:Evidence from 8 Provinces in China," OSIPP Discussion Paper 18E010, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University.
    2. Chen, Yuanyuan & Wang, Le & Zhang, Min, 2017. "Informal Search, Bad Search? The Effects of Job Search Method on Wages among Rural Migrants in Urban China," IZA Discussion Papers 11058, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Wenjin Long & Simon Appleton & Lina Song, 2017. "The impact of job contact networks on wages of rural–urban migrants in China: a switching regression approach," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 81-101, January.
    4. He Zhu & Tsunehiro OTSUKI, 2018. "Can Two Consecutive Generations’ Data Predict Longterm Intergenerational Transition? Evidence from China with three generations," OSIPP Discussion Paper 18E004, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University.
    5. Zhao, Zhong & Qu, Zhaopeng, 2012. "Analyzing the wage inequality for rural-urban migrants in China, 2002-2007," PEP Policy Briefs 159926, Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP).
    6. Fang, Tony & Gunderson, Morley & Lin, Carl, 2016. "The use and impact of job search procedures by migrant workers in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 154-165.
    7. Ariga, Kenn & Ohtake, Fumio & Sasaki, Masaru & Wu, Zheren, 2012. "Wage Growth through Job Hopping in China," IZA Discussion Papers 7104, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Xiaohong Deng & Lei Gong & Yanfang Gao & Xiaoqing Cui & Ke Xu, 2018. "Internal Differentiation within the Rural Migrant Population from the Sustainable Urban Development Perspective: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Qu, Zhaopeng & Zhao, Zhong, 2017. "Glass ceiling effect in urban China: Wage inequality of rural-urban migrants during 2002–2007," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 118-144.
    10. Li, Yunrong, 2017. "The effects of formal and informal child care on the Mother's labor supply—Evidence from urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 227-240.
    11. Long, Wenjin & Appleton, Simon & Song, Lina, 2013. "Job Contact Networks and Wages of Rural-Urban Migrants in China," IZA Discussion Papers 7577, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Yuanyuan Chen & Le Wang & Min Zhang, 2018. "Informal search, bad search?: the effects of job search method on wages among rural migrants in urban China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 837-876, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; Employment; Labour use and migration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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