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Hukou-based labour market discrimination and ownership structure in urban China

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  • Yang Song

Abstract

This paper utilises a 2008 survey on the wave of rural–urban migration in China to provide new empirical evidence on labour market discrimination against rural-to-urban migrants with rural hukou in two ownership sectors within urban China: state-owned enterprises and private firms. By employing a double-selectivity approach, this study shows that the high-wage state-owned enterprise sector is more discriminatory than the private sector against rural hukou holders in urban China. Furthermore, the results from quantile regressions and the wage decomposition inform us that the hukou -based wage discrimination is mainly against middle- and high-wage workers, especially in state-owned enterprises. Moreover, in terms of the magnitude of discrimination, female workers suffer more discrimination than male workers in state-owned enterprises.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:53:y:2016:i:8:p:1657-1673
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098015576861
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    5. Chong Lu & Ailin Wu, 2020. "The Household Registration Threshold and Peasant Worker Decision-Making over Acquiring Urban Hukou in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(3), pages 767-792, October.
    6. 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.
    7. Yao, Mingzhu & Wang, Donggen, 2018. "Mobility and travel behavior in urban China: The role of institutional factors," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 122-131.
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