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on China |
| By: | Maëlys de la Rupelle; Quheng Deng; Shi Li; Thomas Vendryes |
| Abstract: | Like most other developing countries, China experiences huge migration outflows from rural areas. Their most striking characteristic is a high geographical and temporal mobility. Rural migrants keep going back and forth between origin villages and destination areas. In this paper, we show that this temporary feature of migration can be linked to land rights insecurity. As village land ownership remains collective and as land use rights can be periodically reallocated, individual out-migration can result in deprivation of those rights. Moreover, the intensity of this insecurity varies according to the village-level management of land and the contractual status of land plots. We use these variations to identify the effect of land rights insecurity on migration behavior. Empirical results based on representative 2002 rural data demonstrate substantial impact. |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pse:psecon:2009-42&r=cna |
| By: | Hongbin Cai (Department of Applied Economics, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University); Yuyu Chen (Department of Applied Economics, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University); Hanming Fang (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania); Li-An Zhou (Department of Applied Economics, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University) |
| Abstract: | We report results from a large randomized natural field experiment conducted in southwestern China in the context of insurance for sows. Our study sheds light on two important questions about microinsurance. First, how does access to formal insurance affect farmers' production decisions? Second, what explains the low takeup rate of formal insurance, despite substantial premium subsidy from the government? We find that providing access to formal insurance significantly increases farmers' tendency to raise sows. We argue that this finding also suggests that farmers are not previously insured efficiently through informal mechanisms. We also provide several pieces of evidence suggesting that trust, or lack thereof, for government-sponsored insurance products is a significant barrier for farmers' willingness to participate in the insurance program. |
| Keywords: | Microinsurance; Trust, Natural Field Experiment |
| JEL: | C93 O12 O16 |
| Date: | 2009–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:09-034&r=cna |
| By: | Mu, Ren; van de Walle, Dominique |
| Abstract: | The transformation of work during China’s rapid economic development is associated with a substantial but little noticed re-allocation of traditional farm labor among women, with some doing much less and some much more. This paper studies how the work, time allocation, and health of non-migrant women are affected by the out-migration of others in their household. The analysis finds that the women left behind are doing more farm work than would have otherwise been the case. There is also evidence that this is a persistent effect, and not just temporary re-allocation. For some types of women (notably older women), the labor re-allocation response comes out of their leisure. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Gender and Development,Anthropology,Population&Development |
| Date: | 2009–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5107&r=cna |
| By: | Bao, Shuming (University of Michigan); Bodvarsson, Örn B. (St. Cloud State University); Hou, Jack W. (California State University, Long Beach); Zhao, Yaohui (Beijing Normal University) |
| Abstract: | Unlike most countries, China regulates internal migration. Public benefits, access to good quality housing, schools, health care, and attractive employment opportunities are available only to those who have local registration (Hukou). Coincident with the deepening of economic reforms, Hukou has gradually been relaxed since the 1980s, helping to explain an extraordinary surge of migration within China. In this study of interprovincial Chinese migration, we address two questions. First, what is a sensible way of incorporating Hukou into theoretical and empirical models of internal migration? Second, to what extent has Hukou influenced the scale and structure of migration? We incorporate two alternative measures of Hukou into a modified gravity model – the unregistered migrant's: (i) perceived probability of securing Hukou; and (ii) perceived probability of securing employment opportunities available only to those with Hukou. In contrast to previous studies, our model includes a much wider variety of control especially important for the Chinese case. Analyzing the relationship between Hukou and migration using census data for 1985-90, 1995-2000 and 2000-05, we find that migration is very sensitive to Hukou, with the greatest sensitivity occurring during the middle period. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, Hukou, migrant networks, reforms |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2009–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4493&r=cna |