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Labor market participation of Chinese agricultural households: Empirical evidence from Zhejiang province

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  • Glauben, Thomas
  • Herzfeld, Thomas
  • Wang, Xiaobing

Abstract

This work is devoted to the analysis of the different labor market participation regimes of Chinese farm households over the reform process in the 1980s and 1990s. Using household data over the period 1986-2002 from the province Zhejiang, we apply a multinomial logit model to empirically examine household, farm, and regional characteristics affecting the probability that farmers participate in one of four alternative labor market regimes. As generally accepted, off-farm participation is the dominant form of farm households' labor market participation. But rural households show additionally a significant impact on rural employment mainly linked with non-agricultural household business. Results suggest that labor market decisions are significantly related to several family, farm, and village characteristics. In particular, we find education to be a key determinant of participation. Furthermore, results point to a higher probability of female household members to take up off-farm work.

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  • Glauben, Thomas & Herzfeld, Thomas & Wang, Xiaobing, 2008. "Labor market participation of Chinese agricultural households: Empirical evidence from Zhejiang province," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 329-340, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:33:y:2008:i:4:p:329-340
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    8. Jikun Huang & Yunhua Wu & Scott Rozelle, 2009. "Moving off the farm and intensifying agricultural production in Shandong: a case study of rural labor market linkages in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(2), pages 203-218, March.
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    17. Rathmann, Christoph & Renner, Swetlana & Pieniadz, Agata & Glauben, Thomas & Loy, Jens-Peter, 2010. "Einkommensdiversifikation landwirtschaftlicher Haushalte in Schleswig-Holstein," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 59(02), pages 1-14, June.
    18. Bjornsen, Hild-Marte & Mishra, Ashok K., 2012. "Off-farm Employment and Farming Efficiency in Modern Agriculture: A Dynamic Panel Analysis," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124742, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
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