IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i10p5868-d813646.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Self-Employment on the Health of Migrant Workers: Evidence from China Migrants Dynamic Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Wanting Huang

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Lei He

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Hongxing Lan

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

Abstract

Rural-to-urban migrant workers are at high risk of health inequalities in cities. Since labor is a central social determinant of health, this paper provided evidence on the health consequences of self-employment among mobile populations in developing countries. The cross-sectional data from the 2017 data of the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) and the IV-Oprobit model are used to examine the effects of self-employment on health. The results showed that: (1) Self-employment was positively related to health; (2) among the self-employed, the health effects of opportunity self-employed are larger than those of necessity self-employed; (3) in the subsample analysis, the health effect of self-employment was greater for male and Han nationality migrant workers; (4) self-employment promotes health primarily through reducing manual labor, increasing flexibility time, job stability, financial rewards, and social integration directly or indirectly. Thus, focusing on improving the social security system, granting entrepreneurial subsidies, and optimizing the business environment mean boosting the positive effect of self-employment on economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Wanting Huang & Lei He & Hongxing Lan, 2022. "The Impact of Self-Employment on the Health of Migrant Workers: Evidence from China Migrants Dynamic Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:5868-:d:813646
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/10/5868/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/10/5868/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ying ZHU & Peter Y. CHEN & Wei ZHAO, 2014. "Injured workers in China: Injustice, conflict and social unrest," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(4), pages 635-647, December.
    2. Bolin, Kristian & Lindgren, Björn & Lindström, Martin & Nystedt, Paul, 2003. "Investments in social capital--implications of social interactions for the production of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(12), pages 2379-2390, June.
    3. Carol Moore & Richard Mueller, 2002. "The transition from paid to self-employment in Canada: the importance of push factors," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(6), pages 791-801.
    4. Goncalves, Judite & Martins, Pedro S., 2018. "The Effect of Self-Employment on Health: Evidence from Longitudinal Social Security Data," IZA Discussion Papers 11305, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Hannu Tervo, 2008. "Self‐employment transitions and alternation in Finnish rural and urban labour markets," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(1), pages 55-76, March.
    6. Lee, Juyeon & Kim, Myoung-Hee, 2017. "The effect of employment transitions on physical health among the elderly in South Korea: A longitudinal analysis of the Korean Retirement and Income Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 122-130.
    7. Benz, Matthias & Frey, Bruno S., 2008. "The value of doing what you like: Evidence from the self-employed in 23 countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 68(3-4), pages 445-455, December.
    8. Djankov, Simeon & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2008. "The law and economics of self-dealing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 430-465, June.
    9. James P. Smith, 1999. "Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation between Health and Economic Status," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 145-166, Spring.
    10. Björn Gustafsson & Yudan Zhang, 2022. "Self‐employment in Rural China: Its Development, Chara cteristics, and Relation to Income," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(1), pages 136-165, January.
    11. Jimena Silva Segovia & Estefany Castillo Ravanal, 2021. "Complexities of Socio-Labor Integration in Chile: Migrating Colombian Women’s Experiences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-16, November.
    12. Gao, Qin & Yang, Sui & Li, Shi, 2012. "Labor contracts and social insurance participation among migrant workers in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 1195-1205.
    13. Naoki Akaeda, 2021. "Welfare States and the Health Impact of Social Capital: Focusing on the Crowding-Out and Crowding-In Perspectives," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 841-862, October.
    14. Nikolova, Milena, 2019. "Switching to self-employment can be good for your health," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 664-691.
    15. Nicos Nicolaou & Scott Shane & Lynn Cherkas & Janice Hunkin & Tim D. Spector, 2008. "Is the Tendency to Engage in Entrepreneurship Genetic?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(1), pages 167-179, January.
    16. Barry R. Chiswick & Yew Liang Lee & Paul W. Miller, 2008. "Immigrant Selection Systems And Immigrant Health," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 26(4), pages 555-578, October.
    17. Philip Oreopoulos & Till von Wachter & Andrew Heisz, 2012. "The Short- and Long-Term Career Effects of Graduating in a Recession," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 1-29, January.
    18. Barton H. Hamilton, 2000. "Does Entrepreneurship Pay? An Empirical Analysis of the Returns to Self-Employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 604-631, June.
    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. Chuangxin Zhao & Manping Tang & Houjian Li, 2022. "The Effects of Vocational-Skills Training on Migrant Workers’ Willingness to Settle in Urban Areas in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Alfredo Valadez-Garcia & Josué Aarón López-Leyva & Gloria Janeth Murillo-Aviña & Sialia Karina Mellink-Méndez, 2023. "Determinants factors for border and cross-border entrepreneurship in the Cali-Baja Region, Mexico–United States of America border," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1425-1447, September.

    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. Stephan, Ute & Tavares, Susana M. & Carvalho, Helena & Ramalho, Joaquim J.S. & Santos, Susana C. & van Veldhoven, Marc, 2020. "Self-employment and eudaimonic well-being: Energized by meaning, enabled by societal legitimacy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    2. Nicholas Litsardopoulos & George Saridakis & Yannis Georgellis & Chris Hand, 2023. "Self-employment experience effects on well-being: A longitudinal study," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(2), pages 454-480, May.
    3. Binder, Martin & Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin, 2021. "Self-employment and Subjective Well-Being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 744, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Merida, Adrian L. & Rocha, Vera, 2021. "It's about time: The timing of entrepreneurial experience and the career dynamics of university graduates," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    5. Cueto, Begona & Pruneda, Gabriel, 2015. "Job Satisfaction of Wage and Self-Employed workers. Do preferences make a difference?," MPRA Paper 65432, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Hyytinen, Ari & Takalo, Tuomas, 2008. "Investor protection and business creation," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 113-122, June.
    7. Murat Yalcintas & Oyk㜠Iyigãœn & Gokhan Karabulut, 2023. "Personal Characteristics And Intention For Entrepreneurship," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 68(02), pages 539-561.
    8. Yue Yin & Ye Jiang, 2023. "Fertility Effects of Labor Market Conditions at Graduation," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 31(4), pages 120-152, July.
    9. Karen Maguire & John V. Winters, 0. "Satisfaction and Self-employment: Do Men or Women Benefit More from Being Their Own Boss?," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 0, pages 1-27.
    10. Tåg, Joacim & Åstebro, Thomas & Thompson, Peter, 2016. "Hierarchies and entrepreneurship," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 129-147.
    11. Jörn H. Block & Andreas Landgraf, 2016. "Transition from part-time entrepreneurship to full-time entrepreneurship: the role of financial and non-financial motives," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 259-282, March.
    12. Michael S. Dahl & Olav Sorenson, 2012. "Home Sweet Home: Entrepreneurs' Location Choices and the Performance of Their Ventures," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(6), pages 1059-1071, June.
    13. Gabriel V. Montes Rojas & Lucas Siga, 2009. "On the nature of micro-entrepreneurship: evidence from Argentina," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(21), pages 2667-2680.
    14. Mariano Rojas & Karen Watkins-Fassler & Lázaro Rodríguez-Ariza, 2022. "The Life Satisfaction of Owner-Manager Entrepreneurs When the Business of Business is not only Business," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 2251-2275, August.
    15. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke, 2020. "What makes work meaningful and why economists should care about it," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Ardianti, Retno & Obschonka, Martin & Davidsson, Per, 2022. "Psychological well-being of hybrid entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    17. Deepak Hegde & Justin Tumlinson, 2021. "Information frictions and entrepreneurship," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 491-528, March.
    18. Daniel S. J. Lechmann, 2015. "Can working conditions explain the return-to-entrepreneurship puzzle? [Können Arbeitsbedingungen das „return-to-entrepreneurship puzzle“ erklären?]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 48(4), pages 271-286, December.
    19. Velilla, Jorge & Molina, José Alberto & Ortega, Raquel, 2020. "Entrepreneurship among Low-, Mid- and High-Income Workers in South America: A Fuzzy-Set Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 13209, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. van Praag, Mirjam C. & Raknerud, Arvid, 2017. "The Returns to Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Matched Person-Firm Data," IZA Discussion Papers 11018, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:5868-:d:813646. 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.