IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v84y2023icp801-812.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What pulls Chinese migrant workers back to the countryside? An analysis from a family concerns perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Haitao
  • Chang, Jinxiong
  • Wang, Jinxian

Abstract

The large-scale return of migrant workers to rural China has attracted policy and research attention. To examine the forces behind this return, a theoretical model was constructed based on various family structures, after which empirical tests were conducted using data from the Thousand Village Survey. First, it is found that China's household registration system has resulted in additional costs for rural migrant labor, which has forced many to withdraw from their urban nonagricultural employment. However, this does not mean an exhaustion of the surplus rural labor. Second, because wages for the rural labor force among those who are married and have children are already higher than for the unmarried, there is a limited effect of increasing wages to resolve urban labor supply shortages. Third, family activities, such as family reunions and taking care of children and the elderly, are the main reasons for the return of the rural labor force, that is, their return is not solely because of economic reasons or an unwillingness to participate in nonagricultural work; rather, the utility gained from family activities is the main reason. There, this study has policy implications for urban-rural return of migrants and rural revitalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Haitao & Chang, Jinxiong & Wang, Jinxian, 2023. "What pulls Chinese migrant workers back to the countryside? An analysis from a family concerns perspective," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 801-812.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:84:y:2023:i:c:p:801-812
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2022.12.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056022003239
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2022.12.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Knight, John & Yueh, Linda, 2004. "Job mobility of residents and migrants in urban China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 637-660, December.
    2. Everett Lee, 1966. "A theory of migration," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 3(1), pages 47-57, March.
    3. Stark, Oded & Bloom, David E, 1985. "The New Economics of Labor Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 173-178, May.
    4. Rachel Murphy, 1999. "Return migrant entrepreneurs and economic diversification in two counties in south Jiangxi, China," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(4), pages 661-672.
    5. Dean Yang, 2006. "Why Do Migrants Return to Poor Countries? Evidence from Philippine Migrants' Responses to Exchange Rate Shocks," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(4), pages 715-735, November.
    6. Katharine Donato & Jorge Durand & Douglas Massey, 1992. "Stemming the tide? Assessing the deterrent effects of the immigration reform and control act," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 29(2), pages 139-157, May.
    7. Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2012. "The Dynamics of Repeat Migration: A Markov Chain Analysis," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 362-388, June.
    8. Stark, Oded & Levhari, David, 1982. "On Migration and Risk in LDCs," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(1), pages 191-196, October.
    9. Haitao Zhao & Naiquan Liu & Jinxian Wang, 2019. "Effects of human capital difference on migration destination preference of rural floating population in China," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 595-617, October.
    10. DaVanzo, Julie, 1983. "Repeat Migration in the United States: Who Moves Back and Who Moves On?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 552-559, November.
    11. Suzuki, Masao, 1995. "Success Story? Japanese Immigrant Economic Achievement and Return Migration, 1920–1930," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(4), pages 889-901, December.
    12. Aydemir, Abdurrahman & Robinson, Chris, 2006. "Return and Onward Migration Among Working Age Men," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2006273e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    13. Christian Dustmann, 2003. "Children and return migration," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(4), pages 815-830, November.
    14. Dean Yang, 2006. "Why Do Migrants Return to Poor Countries? Evidence From Philippine Migrants%u2019 Responses to Exchange Rate Shocks," NBER Working Papers 12396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pengfei Ge & Tan Liu & Xiaoxu Wu & Xiulu Huang, 2023. "Heterogenous Urbanization and Agricultural Green Development Efficiency: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Augustin De Coulon, 2016. "Where do immigrants retire to?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 297-297, September.
    2. Guy Stecklov & Paul Winters & Marco Stampini & Benjamin Davis, 2003. "Can Public Transfers Reduce Mexican Migration? A study based on randomized experimental data," Working Papers 03-16, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    3. Tiwari, Smriti, 2021. "Do macroeconomic fluctuations at destination matter in determining migrants’ return decisions?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    4. Hagen-Zanker, Jessica, 2010. "Modest expectations: Causes and effects of migration on migrant households in source countries," MPRA Paper 29507, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Sugata Marjit & Biswajit Mandal, 2016. "International Trade, Migration and Unemployment – The Role of Informal Sector," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 8-22, March.
    6. Okeke, Edward N., 2013. "Brain drain: Do economic conditions “push” doctors out of developing countries?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 169-178.
    7. Wang, Chunchao & Zhang, Chenglei & Ni, Jinlan & Zhang, Haifeng & Zhang, Junsen, 2019. "Family migration in China: Do migrant children affect parental settlement intention?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 416-428.
    8. DavidG. Blanchflower & Chris Shadforth, 2009. "Fear, Unemployment and Migration," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(535), pages 136-182, February.
    9. Sílvio Rendon & Alfredo Cuecuecha, 2010. "International job search: Mexicans in and out of the US," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 53-82, March.
    10. Bijwaard, Govert E. & Wahba, Jackline, 2014. "Do high-income or low-income immigrants leave faster?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 54-68.
    11. Emily A. Beam & David McKenzie & Dean Yang, 2016. "Unilateral Facilitation Does Not Raise International Labor Migration from the Philippines," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(2), pages 323-368.
    12. Amelie Constant & Klaus Zimmermann, 2011. "Circular and Repeat Migration: Counts of Exits and Years Away from the Host Country," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 30(4), pages 495-515, August.
    13. 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.
    14. McKenzie, David J., 2006. "A profile of the world's young developing country migrants," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4021, The World Bank.
    15. Junge, Vera & Revilla Diez, Javier & Schätzl, Ludwig, 2015. "Determinants and Consequences of Internal Return Migration in Thailand and Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 94-106.
    16. Gröger, André, 2021. "Easy come, easy go? Economic shocks, labor migration and the family left behind," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    17. Amelie Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2007. "Circular Migration: Counts of Exits and Years away from the Host Country," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 718, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Amelie Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2003. "Circular Movements and Time away from the Host Country," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 390, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    19. Katarzyna Budnik, 2011. "Temporary migration in theories of international mobility of labour," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 42(6), pages 7-48.
    20. Hirvonen, Kalle & Lilleør, Helene Bie, 2015. "Going Back Home: Internal Return Migration in Rural Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 186-202.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rural labor force; Return; Family utility; Family structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:84:y:2023:i:c:p:801-812. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.