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Peer Migration in China

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  • Yuyu Chen
  • Ginger Zhe Jin
  • Yang Yue

Abstract

We aim to quantify the role of social networks in job-related migration. With over 130 million rural labors migrating to the city each year, China is experiencing the largest internal migration in the human history. Using instrumental variables in the 2006 China Agricultural Census, we find that a 10-percentage-point increase in the migration rate of co-villagers raises one's migration probability by 7.27 percent points, an effect comparable to an increase of education by 7-8 years. Evidence suggests that most of this effect is driven by co-villagers helping each other in moving cost and job search at the destination.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuyu Chen & Ginger Zhe Jin & Yang Yue, 2010. "Peer Migration in China," NBER Working Papers 15671, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15671
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bryan Stuart & Evan Taylor, 2017. "Migration Networks and Location Decisions: Evidence from U.S. Mass Migration," Working Papers 2017-26, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    3. Huang, Bihong & Lian, Yujun & Li, Wensu, 2016. "How far is Chinese left-behind parents' health left behind?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 15-26.
    4. Ha, Wei & Yi, Junjian & Yuan, Ye & Zhang, Junsen, 2016. "The dynamic effect of rural-to-urban migration on inequality in source villages: System GMM estimates from rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 27-39.
    5. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2015. "Untangling Trade and Technology: Evidence from Local Labour Markets," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0(584), pages 621-646, May.
    6. Sylvie Démurger, 2012. "Mapping Modes of Rural Labour Migration in China," Working Papers halshs-00695632, HAL.
    7. Bastos, Paulo, 2020. "Exposure of belt and road economies to China trade shocks," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    8. Chen, Yuanyuan & Feng, Shuaizhang, 2013. "Access to public schools and the education of migrant children in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 75-88.
    9. Chen, Yuyu & Jin, Ginger Zhe, 2012. "Does health insurance coverage lead to better health and educational outcomes? Evidence from rural China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-14.
    10. Badi H. Baltagi & Ying Deng & Xiangjun Ma, 2018. "Network effects on labor contracts of internal migrants in China: a spatial autoregressive model," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 265-296, August.
    11. Hao, Li & Houser, Daniel & Mao, Lei & Villeval, Marie Claire, 2016. "Migrations, risks, and uncertainty: A field experiment in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 131(PA), pages 126-140.
    12. Li, Qiang & Liu, Gordon & Zang, Wenbin, 2015. "The health of left-behind children in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 367-376.
    13. Hao, Li & Houser, Daniel & Mao, Lei & Villeval, Marie Claire, 2014. "A Field Study of Chinese Migrant Workers' Attitudes toward Risks, Strategic Uncertainty, and Competitiveness," IZA Discussion Papers 8227, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Li, Qiang & Zang, Wenbin & An, Lian, 2013. "Peer effects and school dropout in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 238-248.
    15. Matteo Bugamelli & Silvia Fabiani & Enrico Sette, 2015. "The Age of the Dragon: The Effect of Imports from China on Firm‐Level Prices," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(6), pages 1091-1118, September.
    16. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    17. Wahba, Jackline & Wang, Chuhong, 2019. "Sons or Daughters? The Impact of Children's Migration on the Health and Well-Being of Parents Left Behind," IZA Discussion Papers 12370, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. 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).
    19. 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

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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