Premium
RURAL‐URBAN MIGRATION AND LABOR MARKETS IN CHINA: A CASE STUDY IN A NORTHEASTERN PROVINCE
Author(s) -
Tianhong WANG,
MARUYAMA Atsushi,
KIKUCHI Masao
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the developing economies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.305
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1746-1049
pISSN - 0012-1533
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1049.2000.tb00872.x
Subject(s) - china , citation , library science , political science , computer science , law
This paper examines rural-urban labor migration in Heilongjiang Province China to gain an understanding of the nature and performance of labor markets in the area. Data were based on micro-level data obtained in Harbin City and two rural villages. Overall findings revealed that in the two sample villages between 30% and 50% of the population has migrated out to urban centers. However rural-urban migration is not a homogenous phenomenon. Different migration flows with migrants of different attributes run from rural areas of different income levels to different urban areas. Moreover a significant wage differential between the rural labor markets and the entry labor markets in the urban informal sector can be seen as providing strong inducement for rural-urban migration. Also labor markets in urban areas exist and function well though educational and legal restrictions segment some labor markets in the urban as well as in the rural sectors. A further study on a wider scale is needed on the nature and workings of labor markets along the rural-urban continuum.