Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting

We examine schooling returns for migrant workers in China based on the 2009 Rural-Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey. Using a novel instrumental variable (IV) set based on the institutional environment unique to rural China, we find the point estimates of returns to lie within the range of 7.8%...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yao, Y., Chen, G., Salim, Ruhul, Yu, X.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier BV * North-Holland 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62979
_version_ 1848760961396113408
author Yao, Y.
Chen, G.
Salim, Ruhul
Yu, X.
author_facet Yao, Y.
Chen, G.
Salim, Ruhul
Yu, X.
author_sort Yao, Y.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description We examine schooling returns for migrant workers in China based on the 2009 Rural-Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey. Using a novel instrumental variable (IV) set based on the institutional environment unique to rural China, we find the point estimates of returns to lie within the range of 7.8%-10.7% for each additional year of schooling. Whilst our estimates are slightly higher than those reported for this cohort of workers in the literature, they are significantly lower than those enjoyed urban dwellers. Furthermore, we identify a wider gap in schooling returns between male (14.7%) and female (8.5%) migrant workers than the comparable gap for urban dwellers. Our results provide another line of evidence supporting a segmented labor market in urban China and remain robust to different estimators and under various IV restrictions. We suggest that improving the education system in the rural areas and eliminating the gender gap among migrant workers represent the necessary steps for enhancing social harmony in the Chinese society.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:24:06Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-62979
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:24:06Z
publishDate 2017
publisher Elsevier BV * North-Holland
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-629792020-06-02T00:29:08Z Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting Yao, Y. Chen, G. Salim, Ruhul Yu, X. We examine schooling returns for migrant workers in China based on the 2009 Rural-Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey. Using a novel instrumental variable (IV) set based on the institutional environment unique to rural China, we find the point estimates of returns to lie within the range of 7.8%-10.7% for each additional year of schooling. Whilst our estimates are slightly higher than those reported for this cohort of workers in the literature, they are significantly lower than those enjoyed urban dwellers. Furthermore, we identify a wider gap in schooling returns between male (14.7%) and female (8.5%) migrant workers than the comparable gap for urban dwellers. Our results provide another line of evidence supporting a segmented labor market in urban China and remain robust to different estimators and under various IV restrictions. We suggest that improving the education system in the rural areas and eliminating the gender gap among migrant workers represent the necessary steps for enhancing social harmony in the Chinese society. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62979 10.1016/j.chieco.2017.09.008 Elsevier BV * North-Holland restricted
spellingShingle Yao, Y.
Chen, G.
Salim, Ruhul
Yu, X.
Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting
title Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting
title_full Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting
title_fullStr Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting
title_full_unstemmed Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting
title_short Schooling returns for migrant workers in China: Estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting
title_sort schooling returns for migrant workers in china: estimations from the perspective of the institutional environment in a rural setting
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62979