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The lasting impact of parental migration on children's education and health outcomes: The case of China

Author

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  • Zai Liang

    (State University of New York at Albany)

  • Feinuo Sun

    (State University of New York at Albany)

Abstract

Background: Recent years have witnessed a surge in studies that examine the education and health consequences of parental migration on children. Most studies focus on the short-term consequences and there is an urgent need to study the long-term consequences. Objective: Capitalizing on a unique survey in China, we aim to study the lasting educational and health consequences of parental migration on children. Methods: We measure respondents' experiences of being left behind during different stages of life, namely prior to elementary school, during elementary school, and during middle school. Among people who have experienced being left behind, we further classify the experience into several categories such as left behind with grandparents and left behind with others. We estimate a variety of regression models taking into account respondents’ different living arrangements when growing up. Results: We find that being left behind with grandparents during the elementary school stage compromises educational attainment. Individuals who were left behind with others during primary school were more likely to have poor self-rated and mental health at the time of the survey. The long-term educational and health consequences of parental migration raise new concerns for today’s left-behind children. Conclusions: We show that parental migration, especially during elementary school years, is likely to have long term consequences for children's educational and health outcomes. Contribution: We show that parental migration has long-term consequences for children's educational and health outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Zai Liang & Feinuo Sun, 2020. "The lasting impact of parental migration on children's education and health outcomes: The case of China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(9), pages 217-244.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:43:y:2020:i:9
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.9
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    Cited by:

    1. Yeqing Huang & Huihui Gong, 2022. "Educational Expectations of Left-behind Children in China: Determinants and Gender Differences," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2501-2523, October.
    2. Bing Xu & William A.V. Clark & Eric Fong & Li Gan, 2020. "Introduction to the special collection on life course decisions of families in China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(5), pages 129-142.
    3. Yang, Shuai & Wang, Yan & Lu, Yuan & Zhang, Hanhan & Wang, Feng & Liu, Zhijun, 2023. "Long-term effects of the left-behind experience on health and its mechanisms: Empirical evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    4. Nan Lu & Wenting Lu & Renxing Chen & Wanzhi Tang, 2023. "The Causal Effects of Urban-to-Urban Migration on Left-behind Children’s Well-Being in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-14, February.
    5. Sun, Feinuo & Liang, Zai, 2021. "Parental migration and anemia status of children in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    left-behind children; long-term migration; education; health; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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