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Sowing Seeds of Mobility: The Gendered Impact of Land Reform

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Ting

    (Hong Kong Baptist University)

  • Gu, Jiajia

    (International Monetary Fund)

  • Ngai, L. Rachel

    (London School of Economics)

  • Wang, Jin

    (Hong Kong Unverity of Science and Technology)

Abstract

We study how land market frictions affect men and women differently during structural transformation, exploiting two major Chinese land reforms that strengthened farmers' rental rights. Using large-language-model text analysis, we construct a county-level reform index and combine it with large panel data to identify causal effects. The reforms shift rural women out of agriculture more than men and reduce urban women's employment and wages relative to men. A multisector model with intra-household labor allocation rationalizes these findings: gender-neutral land market frictions act as gender-specific mobility barriers, and their removal disproportionately accelerates women's transition into non-agricultural employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Ting & Gu, Jiajia & Ngai, L. Rachel & Wang, Jin, 2026. "Sowing Seeds of Mobility: The Gendered Impact of Land Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 18569, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18569
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bu, Di & Liao, Yin, 2022. "Land property rights and rural enterprise growth: Evidence from land titling reform in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Meng, Xin & Zhang, Junsen, 2001. "The Two-Tier Labor Market in Urban China: Occupational Segregation and Wage Differentials between Urban Residents and Rural Migrants in Shanghai," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 485-504, September.
    3. Philipp Ager & Marc Goñi & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2026. "Gender-Biased Technological Change: Milking Machines and the Exodus of Women from Farming," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 116(1), pages 246-286, January.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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