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Left-Behind Children and Return Decisions of Rural Migrants in China

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  • Sylvie Démurger

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Hui Xu

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper examines how left-behind children influence return migration in China. We first present a simple model that incorporates economic and non-economic motives for migration duration (or intentions to return). Based on Dustmann (2003b), the parent is assumed to be altruistic and to care about the prospects of her left-behind children. We then propose two complementary empirical tests based on an original dataset from a rural household survey carried out in Wuwei County (Anhui province, China) in fall 2008. We first use a discrete-time proportional hazard model to estimate the determinants of migration duration for both on-going migrants with incomplete length of duration and return migrants with complete length of duration. Second, we apply a binary Probit model to study the return intentions of on-going migrants. Both models find consistent results regarding the role of left-behind children as a significant motive for return. First, left-behind children are found to pull their parents back to the village, the effect being stronger for pre-school children. Second, sons are found to play a more important role than daughters in reducing migration duration.
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Suggested Citation

  • Sylvie Démurger & Hui Xu, 2011. "Left-Behind Children and Return Decisions of Rural Migrants in China," Post-Print halshs-00625636, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00625636
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sylvie Démurger, 2012. "Mapping Modes of Rural Labour Migration in China," Working Papers halshs-00695632, HAL.
    2. Ardiana Gashi & Nick Adnett, 2015. "The Determinants of Return Migration: Evidence for Kosovo," Croatian Economic Survey, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, vol. 17(2), pages 57-81, December.
    3. Sylvie Démurger & Shi Li, 2013. "Migration, Remittances, and Rural Employment Patterns: Evidence from China," Research in Labor Economics, in: Labor Market Issues in China, pages 31-63, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    4. Xu, Xuelu & Jin, Zeyang, 2024. "Impact of Return Migration on Employment Structure: Evidence from Rural China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Pamela Lenton & Lu Yin, 2016. "The Educational Success of China’s Young Generation of Rural-to-Urban Migrants," Working Papers 2016007, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    6. Loc Duc Nguyen & Ulrike Grote & Rasadhika Sharma, 2017. "Staying in the cities or returning home? An analysis of the rural-urban migration behavior in Vietnam," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, December.
    7. Xu, Shengyan & Zhu, Hongfei & Li, Xiaolong, 2013. "Who Had To Leave Their Children Behind? Evidence From A Migrant Survey In Shanghai," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 54(1), pages 39-50, June.
    8. Nguyen, Duc Loc & Grote, Ulrike, 2015. "Rural-Urban Migrants in Vietnam: Should we Stay in the Cities or Return Home?," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 229380, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. repec:hal:wpaper:halshs-00744438 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Alvaro Morcillo & Rashmi Bhat, 2013. "Return migration to South Africa: reasons and socioeconomic profile," NCID Working Papers 03/2013, Navarra Center for International Development, University of Navarra.
    11. Vahan Sargsyan, 2015. "Differential Treatment in the Chinese Labor Market. Is Hukou Type the Only Problem?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp548, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    return migration; migration duration; left-behind children; discrete-time duration analysis; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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