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Outsider ethnic minorities and wage determination in China

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  • Andrew W. MACDONALD
  • Reza HASMATH

Abstract

While some studies on urban ethnic minorities in China indicate that they earn lower wages relative to the Han majority, others show little evidence of this gap. To understand this contradiction, the authors propose that the primary issue is a failure to fully disaggregate ethnic minority groups’ labour market experiences. Leveraging a large data set looking at China's ethnic minorities, findings suggest that “outsider minorities”, such as Tibetans and Turkic groups, suffer a significant wage penalty when controlling for covariates, while minorities in aggregate do not. These findings are robust across various specifications and have notable theoretical and policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew W. MACDONALD & Reza HASMATH, 2019. "Outsider ethnic minorities and wage determination in China," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(3), pages 489-508, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:158:y:2019:i:3:p:489-508
    DOI: 10.1111/ilr.12074
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    Cited by:

    1. Iwasaki, Ichiro & Ma, Xinxin, 2020. "Gender wage gap in China: a large meta-analysis," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 54, pages 1-17.
    2. Hou, Yue & Liu, Chuyu & Crabtree, Charles, 2020. "Anti-muslim bias in the Chinese labor market," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 235-250.
    3. Iwasaki, Ichiro & Ma, Xinxin, 2020. "Gender Wage Gap in China: A Large Meta-Analysis," CEI Research Paper Series 2020-5, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

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