IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v13y2023i3p708-d1101042.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Migration on Farm Performance: Evidence from Rice Farmers in China

Author

Listed:
  • Guangcheng Ren

    (College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    Section Economics, Wageningen University, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Xueqin Zhu

    (Section Economics, Wageningen University, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Shuyi Feng

    (China Resources & Environment and Development Academy, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

Abstract

Developing economies face challenges in improving the overall performance of farms. An essential challenge could be a substantial shift in the agricultural labor force to off-farm sectors during the process of economic transition. This paper estimates the causal impact of migration on the economic and environmental performance of rice farms, measured using technical efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency. A stochastic frontier analysis, based on the survey data collected in four regions of China, is applied, finding an average technical efficiency of 0.92, while the average fertilizer use efficiency is only 0.22. The results of propensity score matching suggest that migration has a marginally negative impact on both technical efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency of their rice production, while the impact is amplified for farmers who participated in migration more intensively. This would imply that the government policy on the migration of rural households might also need to consider this impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Guangcheng Ren & Xueqin Zhu & Shuyi Feng, 2023. "The Impact of Migration on Farm Performance: Evidence from Rice Farmers in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:708-:d:1101042
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/3/708/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/3/708/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Taylor, J Edward & Rozelle, Scott & de Brauw, Alan, 2003. "Migration and Incomes in Source Communities: A New Economics of Migration Perspective from China," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(1), pages 75-101, October.
    2. Bowlus, Audra J. & Sicular, Terry, 2003. "Moving toward markets? Labor allocation in rural China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 561-583, August.
    3. Zhang, Linxiu & Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 2002. "Employment, emerging labor markets, and the role of education in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 313-328.
    4. Ma, Xianlei & Heerink, Nico & Feng, Shuyi & Shi, Xiaoping, 2017. "Land tenure security and technical efficiency: new insights from a case study in Northwest China," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 305-327, June.
    5. Jin Yang & Hui Wang & Songqing Jin & Kevin Chen & Jeffrey Riedinger & Chao Peng, 2016. "Migration, local off-farm employment, and agricultural production efficiency: evidence from China," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 247-259, June.
    6. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Xia, Fang & Huang, Jikun, 2014. "Moving Off the Farm: Land Institutions to Facilitate Structural Transformation and Agricultural Productivity Growth in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 505-520.
    7. Aziz Atamanov & Marrit Van den Berg, 2012. "Participation and returns in rural nonfarm activities: evidence from the Kyrgyz Republic," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 43(4), pages 459-471, July.
    8. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    9. SHI, Xiaoping & Heerink, Nico & Qu, Futian, 2007. "Choices between different off-farm employment sub-categories: An empirical analysis for Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 438-455.
    10. Abdulai, Abdul-Nafeo & Abdulai, Awudu, 2017. "Examining the impact of conservation agriculture on environmental efficiency among maize farmers in Zambia," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 177-201, April.
    11. Xueqin Zhu & Alfons Oude Lansink, 2010. "Impact of CAP Subsidies on Technical Efficiency of Crop Farms in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 545-564, September.
    12. Skevas, Ioannis & Zhu, Xueqin & Shestalova, Victoria & Emvalomatis, Grigorios, 2018. "The Impact of Agri-Environmental Policies and Production Intensification on the Environmental Performance of Dutch Dairy Farms," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 43(3), September.
    13. Mckenzie, David & Rapoport, Hillel, 2007. "Network effects and the dynamics of migration and inequality: Theory and evidence from Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 1-24, September.
    14. Johannes Sauer & Matthew Gorton & Sophia Davidova, 2015. "Migration and farm technical efficiency: evidence from Kosovo," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(5), pages 629-641, September.
    15. E. Phimister & D. Roberts, 2006. "The Effect of Off-farm Work on the Intensity of Agricultural Production," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 34(4), pages 493-515, August.
    16. Alain de Janvry & Kyle Emerick & Marco Gonzalez-Navarro & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2015. "Delinking Land Rights from Land Use: Certification and Migration in Mexico," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3125-3149, October.
    17. Avraham Ebenstein & Jian Zhang & Margaret S. McMillan & Kevin Chen, 2011. "Chemical Fertilizer and Migration in China," NBER Working Papers 17245, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. James Kai-Sing Kung & Nansheng Bai & Yiu-Fai Lee, 2011. "Human capital, migration, and a ‘vent’ for surplus rural labour in 1930s China: the case of the Lower Yangzi," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64, pages 117-141, February.
    19. Mochebelele, Motsamai T. & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2000. "Migrant Labor and Farm Technical Efficiency in Lesotho," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 143-153, January.
    20. Taylor, J. Edward & Martin, Philip L., 2001. "Human capital: Migration and rural population change," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 9, pages 457-511, Elsevier.
    21. Ahmed, Mohamed M. & Gebremedhin, Berhanu & Benin, Samuel & Ehui, Simeon, 2002. "Measurement and sources of technical efficiency of land tenure contracts in Ethiopia," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(3), pages 507-527, July.
    22. Klaus Deininger & Daniel Ayalew Ali & Tekie Alemu, 2011. "Impacts of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Investment, and Land Market Participation: Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(2), pages 312-334.
    23. Shi, Xiaoping & HEERINK, Nico & QU, Futian, 2011. "Does off-farm employment contribute to agriculture-based environmental pollution? New insights from a village-level analysis in Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 524-533.
    24. Yaohui Zhao, 1999. "Leaving the Countryside: Rural-to-Urban Migration Decisions in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 281-286, May.
    25. Fleur Wouterse, 2010. "Migration and technical efficiency in cereal production: evidence from Burkina Faso," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(5), pages 385-395, September.
    26. de Brauw, Alan & Rozelle, Scott, 2008. "Migration and household investment in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 320-335, June.
    27. J. Edward Taylor & Scott Rozelle & Alan deBrauw, 1999. "Migration, Remittances, and Agricultural Productivity in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 287-291, May.
    28. Stijn Reinhard & C.A. Knox Lovell & Geert Thijssen, 1999. "Econometric Estimation of Technical and Environmental Efficiency: An Application to Dutch Dairy Farms," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 81(1), pages 44-60.
    29. Kumbhakar,Subal C. & Lovell,C. A. Knox, 2003. "Stochastic Frontier Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521666633, September.
    30. Chenggang Wang & Nicholas Rada & Lijian Qin & Suwen Pan, 2014. "Impacts of Migration on Household Production Choices: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 413-425, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ana Ursu & Maria Cristina Sterie & Ionut Laurentiu Petre, 2023. "The Contribution of the Agricultural Labour Force in Romania to the Sector’s Economic Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-25, December.
    2. Bonoua Faye & Jeanne Colette Diéne & Guoming Du & Chang’an Liang & Yao Dinard Kouadio & Edmée Mbaye & Yuheng Li, 2024. "Decentralization Policies and Rural Socio-Economic Growth in Senegal: An Exploration of Their Contributions to Development and Transformation," World, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-23, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ren, Guangcheng & Zhu, Xueqin & Heerink, Nico & Feng, Shuyi, 2020. "Rural household migration in China – the roles of actual and perceived tenure security," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Zhao, Sudan & Jiang, Yongmu, 2022. "Heterogeneous effects of rural–urban migration and migrant earnings on land efficiency: Empirical evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. SHI, Xiaoping & HEERINK, Nico & QU, Futian, 2009. "The role of off-farm employment in the rural energy consumption transition -- A village-level analysis in Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 350-359, June.
    4. Xianlei Ma & Nico Heerink & Ekko Ierland & Xiaoping Shi, 2016. "Land tenure insecurity and rural-urban migration in rural China," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 383-406, June.
    5. SHI, Xiaoping & Heerink, Nico & Qu, Futian, 2007. "Choices between different off-farm employment sub-categories: An empirical analysis for Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 438-455.
    6. Jin Yang & Hui Wang & Songqing Jin & Kevin Chen & Jeffrey Riedinger & Chao Peng, 2016. "Migration, local off-farm employment, and agricultural production efficiency: evidence from China," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 247-259, June.
    7. Zhang, Yongchao & Torre, André & Ehrlich, Marianne, 2023. "The impact of Chinese government promoted homestead transfer on labor migration and household's well-being: A study in three rural areas," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    8. Zhao, Qianyu & Bao, Helen X.H. & Zhang, Zhanlu, 2021. "Off-farm employment and agricultural land use efficiency in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    9. Ubaid Ali & Mazhar Mughal & Lionel de Boisdeffre, 2023. "Migrant remittances, agriculture investment and cropping patterns," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 899-920, September.
    10. Démurger, Sylvie & Xu, Hui, 2011. "Return Migrants: The Rise of New Entrepreneurs in Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1847-1861.
    11. Shi, Xiaoping & HEERINK, Nico & QU, Futian, 2011. "Does off-farm employment contribute to agriculture-based environmental pollution? New insights from a village-level analysis in Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 524-533.
    12. Sauer, J. & Davidova, S. & Gorton, M., 2013. "Migration and Agricultural Efficiency in Kosovo," 87th Annual Conference, April 8-10, 2013, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 158864, Agricultural Economics Society.
    13. Görlich, Dennis & Trebesch, Christoph, 2006. "Mass migration and seasonality: evidence on Moldova's labour exodus," Kiel Advanced Studies Working Papers 435, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    14. Zhang, Yi & Matz, Julia Anna, 2017. "On the train to brain gain in rural China," Discussion Papers 252443, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    15. Sauer, Johannes & Gorton, Matthew & Davidova, Sophia, 2014. "Migration and Agricultural Efficiency," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 172684, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. repec:got:cegedp:56 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Xia, Fang & Huang, Jikun, 2014. "Moving Off the Farm: Land Institutions to Facilitate Structural Transformation and Agricultural Productivity Growth in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 505-520.
    18. Hong, Yu & Heerink, Nico & Zhao, Minjuan & van der Werf, Wopke, 2019. "Intercropping contributes to a higher technical efficiency in smallholder farming: Evidence from a case study in Gaotai County, China," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 317-324.
    19. Vogel, Everton & Dalheimer, Bernhard & Beber, Caetano Luiz & de Mori, Claudia & Palhares, Julio Cesar Pascale & Novo, André Luiz Monteiro, 2023. "Environmental efficiency and methane abatement costs of dairy farms from Minas Gerais, Brazil," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. Hoang, Trung X. & Pham, Cong S. & Ulubaşoğlu, Mehmet A., 2014. "Non-Farm Activity, Household Expenditure, and Poverty Reduction in Rural Vietnam: 2002–2008," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 554-568.
    21. Zhu, Zhen & Xu, Zhigang & Shen, Yueqin & Huang, Chenming & Zhang, Yaoqi, 2019. "How off-farm work drives the intensity of rural households' investment in forest management: The case from Zhejiang, China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 30-43.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:708-:d:1101042. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.