IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v13y2024i12p1977-d1526087.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Local Citizenship Still Matter? The Impact of Hukou Locality on the Employment of Relocated Households from the Perspective of Welfare Acquisition Cost

Author

Listed:
  • Lei He

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Peikun Xue

    (Business School, University of Exeter, Exeter Devon EX4 4PU, UK
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Hongxing Lan

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

Abstract

Rural-to-urban resettlement is a widely used poverty alleviation strategy in China for fundamentally transforming poor farmers’ livelihoods, with roughly 263,000 rural poor relocated to urban communities in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture between 2016 and 2020. This dramatic development intervention in urbanization has unexpectedly resulted in the separation of hukou locality and residence. Considering that the government equally provides follow-up employment support policies to guarantee the citizenship rights for resettlers whether or not their hukou locality has transferred to urban communities, then, does the local citizenship still matter for employment? If so, how does local citizenship make a difference? What role does employment policy play in terms of the impact of local citizenship on employment? The answers to these questions are not yet clear. Based on a survey of 735 relocated households in the Liangshan Yi Ethnic Area, the Heckman sample selection model was used to empirically estimate the effect of local citizenship (hukou locality) on employment from the perspective of welfare acquisition cost, paying particular attention to the moderating effect of follow-up employment support policies. Our results show that (1) local citizenship can significantly increase the employed persons of a household by 0.279 units, prolong the working months by 2.297 units, and increase per capita wage by 0.885%. (2) Mechanism analysis shows that local citizenship affects relocated households’ employment by reducing welfare acquisition costs. (3) Moderating analysis shows that the follow-up employment support policies weakened the positive impact of local citizenship on employment, developing pro-poor jobs substitutes for the positive effect of local citizenship on the employed size; recommending job information substitutes for the positive effect of local citizenship on working months; and targeted labor exporting substitutes for the positive effect of local citizenship on per capita wage. This study provides new empirical evidence for understanding the relationship between hukou locality and employment consequences at a smaller scale and then provides theoretical reference and practical basis for the improvement of employment from the perspective of local citizenship.

Suggested Citation

  • Lei He & Peikun Xue & Hongxing Lan, 2024. "Does Local Citizenship Still Matter? The Impact of Hukou Locality on the Employment of Relocated Households from the Perspective of Welfare Acquisition Cost," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:1977-:d:1526087
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/12/1977/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/12/1977/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christina Gathmann & Nicolas Keller, 2018. "Access to Citizenship and the Economic Assimilation of Immigrants," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(616), pages 3141-3181, December.
    2. Afridi, Farzana & Li, Sherry Xin & Ren, Yufei, 2015. "Social identity and inequality: The impact of China's hukou system," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 17-29.
    3. Yu Hua & Hai-yan Zhang & Hou-jun Liu, 2022. "Does pension affect labour supply? New evidence from large-scale rural pension policy reform in China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(11), pages 1212-1228, March.
    4. Ekaterina Aleksandrova & Venera Bagranova & Christopher J Gerry, 2021. "The effect of health shocks on labour market outcomes in Russia [Ageing and unused capacity in Europe: is there an early retirement trap?]," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 45(6), pages 1319-1336.
    5. Pi, Jiancai & Zhang, Pengqing, 2016. "Hukou system reforms and skilled-unskilled wage inequality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 90-103.
    6. Song, Yang, 2014. "What should economists know about the current Chinese hukou system?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 200-212.
    7. Wenjie Zhang & Xianqiang Zou & Chuliang Luo & Lulu Yuan, 2024. "Hukou reform and labor market outcomes of urban natives in China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-41, June.
    8. Jin, Zhangfeng & Zhang, Junsen, 2023. "Access to local citizenship and internal migration in a developing country: Evidence from a Hukou reform in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 181-215.
    9. Zhang, Dandan, 2020. "The evolution of the wage gap between rural migrants and the urban labour force in Chinese cities," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(1), January.
    10. Bernt Bratsberg & James F. Ragan & Zafar M. Nasir, 2002. "The Effect of Naturalization on Wage Growth: A Panel Study of Young Male Immigrants," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(3), pages 568-597, July.
    11. Wei Si, 2021. "Public health insurance and the labor market: Evidence from China's Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 403-431, February.
    12. Dandan Zhang, 2020. "The evolution of the wage gap between rural migrants and the urban labour force in Chinese cities," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(1), pages 55-81, January.
    13. Fang Cai, 2011. "Hukou System Reform and Unification of Rural–urban Social Welfare," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 19(3), pages 33-48, May.
    14. Maria Rosaria Carillo & Vincenzo Lombardo & Tiziana Venittelli, 2023. "Social identity and labor market outcomes of immigrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 69-113, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Dong, Xiaoqi & Liang, Yinhe & Zhang, Jiawei, 2023. "Fertility responses to the relaxation of migration restrictions: Evidence from the Hukou reform in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Claudio Deiana & Ludovica Giua & Roberto Nisticò, "undated". "Legalization and Long-Term Outcomes of Immigrant Workers," Development Working Papers 480, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    3. Siddique Abu Bakkar, 2020. "Identity-based Earning Discrimination among Chinese People," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-42, January.
    4. Pi, Jiancai & Zhang, Pengqing, 2016. "Hukou system reforms and skilled-unskilled wage inequality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 90-103.
    5. Ye, Juntao & Cai, Liming & Shi, Xinjie & Cheng, Mingwang, 2024. "Pursuing a brighter future: Impact of the Hukou reform on human capital investment in migrant children in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Yang Yang, 2023. "Hukou Identity and Economic Behaviours: A Social Identity Perspective," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph23-02 edited by Catherine Bros & Julie Lochard.
    7. Simiao Chen & Zhangfeng Jin & Klaus Prettner, 2023. "Can I live with you after I retire? Retirement, old age support and internal migration in a developing country," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(3), pages 964-988, August.
    8. Jin, Zhangfeng & Zhang, Junsen, 2023. "Access to local citizenship and internal migration in a developing country: Evidence from a Hukou reform in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 181-215.
    9. Gordon B Dahl & Christina Felfe & Paul Frijters & Helmut Rainer, 2022. "Caught between Cultures: Unintended Consequences of Improving Opportunity for Immigrant Girls," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(5), pages 2491-2528.
    10. Junhua Chen & Shufan Ma & Na Liu, 2023. "Multi-dimensional Housing Inequality Index: The Provincial Evidence from China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 633-654, January.
    11. Claudio Deiana & Ludovica Giua & Roberto Nisticò, 2021. "Getting Off on the Wrong Foot: The Long-Term Effects of Missing a Large-Scale Amnesty for Immigrant Workers," CSEF Working Papers 625, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    12. Felfe, Christina & Kocher, Martin G. & Rainer, Helmut & Saurer, Judith & Siedler, Thomas, 2021. "More opportunity, more cooperation? The behavioral effects of birthright citizenship on immigrant youth," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    13. Lin, Carl & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2018. "Parental Migration Decisions and Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from China," IZA Discussion Papers 11986, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Regina T. Riphahn & Salwan Saif, 2019. "Naturalization and labor market performance of immigrants in Germany," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 33(1), pages 48-76, March.
    15. Shen, Huayu & Xiong, Hao & Zheng, Shaofeng & Hou, Fei, 2021. "Chief executive officer (CEO)’s rural origin and internal control quality," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 441-452.
    16. Fasani, Francesco & Frattini, Tommaso & Pirot, Maxime, 2023. "From Refugees to Citizens: Labor Market Returns to Naturalization," CEPR Discussion Papers 18675, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Liao, Yu & Zhang, Junfu, 2021. "Hukou status, housing tenure choice and wealth accumulation in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    18. Gathmann, Christina & Garbers, Julio, 2023. "Citizenship and integration," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    19. Yang Song, 2016. "Hukou-based labour market discrimination and ownership structure in urban China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(8), pages 1657-1673, June.
    20. Jin, Zhangfeng, 2020. "Welfare Magnets and Internal Migration in China," GLO Discussion Paper Series 498, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    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:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:1977-:d:1526087. 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.