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Migration, local off-farm employment, and agricultural production efficiency: Evidence from China:

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  • Yang, Jin
  • Wang, Hui
  • Jin, Songqing
  • Chen, Kevin Z.
  • Riedinger, Jeffrey
  • Chao, Peng

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of local off-farm employment and migration on rural households’ technical efficiency of crop production using a five-year panel dataset from more than 2,000 households in five Chinese provinces. While there is not much debate about the positive contribution of migration and local off-farm employment to China’s economy, there is an increasing concern about the potential negative effects of moving labor away from agriculture on China’s future food security. This is a critical issue as maintaining self-sufficiency in grain production will be critical for China to feed its huge population in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Jin & Wang, Hui & Jin, Songqing & Chen, Kevin Z. & Riedinger, Jeffrey & Chao, Peng, 2014. "Migration, local off-farm employment, and agricultural production efficiency: Evidence from China:," IFPRI discussion papers 1338, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1338
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; labor; cereals; food security; Efficiency; local off-farm;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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