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Impact of Return Migration on Employment Structure: Evidence from Rural China

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  • Xu, Xuelu
  • Jin, Zeyang

Abstract

Research on the impact of returnees on rural economic development in China is scarce with the increasing number of migrant workers returning to the countryside from Chinese cities. Data from China Labor-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS) of 2014 and 2016 are used in this paper, attempting to discuss this issue from the perspective of the impact of returnees on the employment of the non-migrant labor force based on occupational skill structure. It is found that the higher the proportion of returnees at the county level is, the more non-migrants will shift to non-agricultural areas after controlling for the exogenous factors of returning reason. Stayers are more likely to work in the medium-skilled secondary industry and construction and escape away from the low-skilled service sector. Off-farm job opportunity and peer effect may be two main channels of returnees to influence job structure of non-migrants. This paper provides empirical evidence on the contribution of Chinese returnees to non-agricultural economic development in rural areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Xuelu & Jin, Zeyang, 2024. "Impact of Return Migration on Employment Structure: Evidence from Rural China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:91:y:2024:i:c:s1049007823001173
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2023.101697
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Return migration; Employment structure; Off-farm job opportunity; Peer effect; Rural China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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