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Productivity Gains from Agglomeration and Migration in the People's Republic of China between 2002 and 2013

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre-Philippe Combes

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Sylvie Démurger

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Shi Li

    (School of Economics and Business Administration - BNU - Beijing Normal University)

Abstract

We evaluate the evolution of productivity gains in cities in the People's Republic of China between 2002 and 2013. In 2002, rural migrants exerted a strong positive externality on the earnings of urban residents, which were also higher on average in cities with access to foreign markets through a seaport. In 2007 and 2013, city size (measured in terms of both employment density and land area) was the crucial determinant of productivity. Market access, whether internal or external, played no direct role. Rural migrants still enhanced urban residents’ earnings in 2007 and 2013, though the effect was less than half that in 2002. Urban gains and their evolution over time are very similar on a total and a per hour earnings basis. Finally, skilled workers and females experienced slightly larger gains than unskilled workers and males.
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Suggested Citation

  • Pierre-Philippe Combes & Sylvie Démurger & Shi Li, 2017. "Productivity Gains from Agglomeration and Migration in the People's Republic of China between 2002 and 2013," SciencePo Working papers Main halshs-01638247, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:spmain:halshs-01638247
    DOI: 10.1162/adev_a_00099
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01638247
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Démurger, Sylvie & Gurgand, Marc & Li, Shi & Yue, Ximing, 2009. "Migrants as second-class workers in urban China? A decomposition analysis," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 610-628, December.
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    10. Démurger, Sylvie & Li, Shi & Yang, Juan, 2012. "Earnings differentials between the public and private sectors in China: Exploring changes for urban local residents in the 2000s," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 138-153.
    11. Pierre-Philippe Combes & Sylvie Démurger & Shi Li, 2015. "Migration Externalities in China," Post-Print halshs-01137798, HAL.
    12. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Duranton, Gilles & Gobillon, Laurent, 2008. "Spatial wage disparities: Sorting matters!," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 723-742, March.
    13. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Démurger, Sylvie & Li, Shi, 2015. "Migration externalities in Chinese cities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 152-167.
    14. Stuart S. Rosenthal & William C. Strange, 2008. "Agglomeration and Hours Worked," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(1), pages 105-118, February.
    15. Pierre-Philippe Combes & Sylvie Démurger & Shi Li, 2015. "Migration externalities in Chinese cities," Post-Print halshs-01089710, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ning Jia & Huiyong Zhong, 2022. "The Causes and Consequences of China's Municipal Amalgamations: Evidence from Population Redistribution," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(4), pages 174-200, July.
    2. Xuan Liang & Jiti Gao & Xiaodong Gong, 2022. "Semiparametric Spatial Autoregressive Panel Data Model with Fixed Effects and Time-Varying Coefficients," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 1784-1802, October.
    3. Galster, George C. & Osland, Liv, 2024. "Educational and gender heterogeneity of the rural-urban earnings premium: New evidence from Norway," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    4. Selod, Harris & Shilpi, Forhad, 2021. "Rural-urban migration in developing countries: Lessons from the literature," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Cem Özgüzel, 2023. "Agglomeration effects in a developing economy: evidence from Turkey," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(4), pages 823-846.
    6. Zhang, Sihan & Qiu, Leiju & Zhao, Daxuan, 2021. "Technological diffusion, migration and entrepreneurship in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. Baldoni, Edoardo & Coderoni, Silvia & Esposti, Roberto, 2018. "Immigrant workforce and labour productivity in Italian agriculture: a farm-level analysis," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 6(3), May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; wage disparities; urban development; cities; agglomeration economies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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