| By: |
Giulietti, Corrado (IZA);
Wahba, Jackline (University of Southampton);
Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: |
While there is evidence that return migration promotes entrepreneurship and
self-employment of those who migrated, previous studies have not focused on
whether migration provides the same benefits to individuals who did not
migrate. Using a unique dataset that provides information on both current and
return migrants in rural China (RUMiC), we investigate the impact of migration
on entrepreneurship among individuals with no migration experience. We explore
the self-employment choices of individuals who live in households with return
migrants and individuals who live in households that have migrants currently
in the city, comparing them with individuals living in non-migrant households.
Our methodology allows us to control for the potential endogeneity between the
migration and self-employment decisions. The results show that return
migration promotes self-employment among household members that have not
migrated. However, left-behind individuals are less likely to be self-employed
when compared to those living in non-migrant households. |
| Keywords: |
rural to urban migration, RUMiC dataset, self-employment |
| JEL: |
J23 J61 O15 |
| Date: |
2013–03 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7270&r=cna |