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Human capital, migration, and a ‘vent’ for surplus rural labour in 1930s China: the case of the Lower Yangzi

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  • JAMES KAI‐SING KUNG
  • NANSHENG BAI
  • YIU‐FAI LEE

Abstract

A farm survey conducted in a prosperous Chinese county (Wuxi) in the Lower Yangzi region in the 1930s shows that a ‘vent’ existed for surplus farm workers to obtain off-farm migrant employment and that the slack in farming created by this migration process attracted those from the lower‐wage districts, resulting in the creation of a hierarchy of labour markets differentiated by education and skills. Our analysis also reveals that there were crucial links between education, migration, and income, and it refutes the claim that migration was caused by land deficiency and favoured those who lived near the urban core.

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  • James Kai‐Sing Kung & Nansheng Bai & Yiu‐Fai Lee, 2011. "Human capital, migration, and a ‘vent’ for surplus rural labour in 1930s China: the case of the Lower Yangzi," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64(s1), pages 117-141, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:64:y:2011:i:s1:p:117-141
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    Cited by:

    1. Guangcheng Ren & Xueqin Zhu & Shuyi Feng, 2023. "The Impact of Migration on Farm Performance: Evidence from Rice Farmers in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Kung, James Kai-sing & Li, Nan, 2011. "Commercialization as exogenous shocks: The effect of the soybean trade and migration in Manchurian villages, 1895–1934," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 568-589.
    3. Yidan Liang, 2023. "Capital and labour distortion in China: a systematic literature review using HistCite," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 1759-1784, June.
    4. Bingdao Zheng & Yanfeng Gu, 2022. "Institutional dynamics and access to non‐farm employment in rural China, 1950–1996," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 265-289, November.
    5. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Hirsch, Stefan, 2021. "Market-oriented agriculture and farm performance: Evidence from rural China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

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