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Home sweet home: Impacts of living conditions on worker migration with evidence from randomized resettlement in China

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  • Qiu, Huanguang
  • Hong, Junqiao
  • Wang, Xiangrui
  • Filipski, Mateusz

Abstract

Growing concerns over family separations draw renewed attention to temporary work migration and the factors shaping it. We leverage the randomized timing in a Chinese re-housing initiative, the Poverty Alleviation Resettlement (PAR) program, to shed light on the impact of rural living conditions on temporary labor migration. Applying a difference-in-differences framework to three waves of panel data (2016, 2017, 2019), we estimate impacts of re-housing on labor out-migration. Results reveal that improved housing decreased the propensity to send out migrant workers, particularly for young parents and households with dependents, with important implications for the rural left-behind.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiu, Huanguang & Hong, Junqiao & Wang, Xiangrui & Filipski, Mateusz, 2024. "Home sweet home: Impacts of living conditions on worker migration with evidence from randomized resettlement in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 558-583.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:220:y:2024:i:c:p:558-583
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.02.030
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor migration; Quality of life; Left-behind children; Natural experiment; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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