Regional Unemployment, Rural-to-urban Migration and the Economic Reforms of China
Regional Unemployment, Rural-to-urban Migration and the Economic Reforms of China
There are five chapters in this thesis. Chapter One is an introduction. Chapter Two is a literature review of unemployment in China. Chapter Three, Four and Five are three self-contained essays on migration, unemployment and the persistence of unemployment in China.
In China the output level is joint determined by central and local government. Once the output fixed, labour demand will be fixed by the administered wage in the original Harris Todaro Model, since its production function has only one variable factor, labour. To analyse the influence of administered wage on migration with a central planner, Chapter Three uses the CES production function with two inputs, labour and capital. When output is fixed the effect of the administered wage on migration is ambiguous, depending upon the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital.
Unemployment rates in urban areas vary a great deal across Chinese provinces. Why is this? Chapter four builds a model to explore how unemployment in the province is influenced by the peasants' wage, the formal sector wage, the unemployment benefit, and the size of formal sector. The data set is a balanced provincial panel. TSP and panel data methodology has been used in the empirical work. Evidence from panel data suggests that the main reason why the urban unemployment rates are high in the West is that the Urban-Rural Income Inequality within the province is also greater in the West. This is also the main reason for greater intra-regional migration in the West.
Chapter Five examines empirically the persistence of regional unemployment in China and explores the sources of this persistence. The empirical results from panel data suggest three important findings. First, youth unemployment is less persistent than total unemployment. Second, provincial relative unemployment is more persistent than aggregate unemployment. Third, although west region has the highest provincial unemployment rate, it has the lowest persistence of regional unemployment comparing with east and middle regions. To explore the sources of unemployment persistence, a panel data method has been developed based on the Barro Approach and Edwards' work. The higher is the share of industry output from the state sector and collective sector, the greater is the regional unemployment persistence.
University of Southampton
Wu, Zhongmin
1c896e54-dd35-4b90-9bb3-07dde910bc36
2001
Wu, Zhongmin
1c896e54-dd35-4b90-9bb3-07dde910bc36
Wu, Zhongmin
(2001)
Regional Unemployment, Rural-to-urban Migration and the Economic Reforms of China.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
There are five chapters in this thesis. Chapter One is an introduction. Chapter Two is a literature review of unemployment in China. Chapter Three, Four and Five are three self-contained essays on migration, unemployment and the persistence of unemployment in China.
In China the output level is joint determined by central and local government. Once the output fixed, labour demand will be fixed by the administered wage in the original Harris Todaro Model, since its production function has only one variable factor, labour. To analyse the influence of administered wage on migration with a central planner, Chapter Three uses the CES production function with two inputs, labour and capital. When output is fixed the effect of the administered wage on migration is ambiguous, depending upon the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital.
Unemployment rates in urban areas vary a great deal across Chinese provinces. Why is this? Chapter four builds a model to explore how unemployment in the province is influenced by the peasants' wage, the formal sector wage, the unemployment benefit, and the size of formal sector. The data set is a balanced provincial panel. TSP and panel data methodology has been used in the empirical work. Evidence from panel data suggests that the main reason why the urban unemployment rates are high in the West is that the Urban-Rural Income Inequality within the province is also greater in the West. This is also the main reason for greater intra-regional migration in the West.
Chapter Five examines empirically the persistence of regional unemployment in China and explores the sources of this persistence. The empirical results from panel data suggest three important findings. First, youth unemployment is less persistent than total unemployment. Second, provincial relative unemployment is more persistent than aggregate unemployment. Third, although west region has the highest provincial unemployment rate, it has the lowest persistence of regional unemployment comparing with east and middle regions. To explore the sources of unemployment persistence, a panel data method has been developed based on the Barro Approach and Edwards' work. The higher is the share of industry output from the state sector and collective sector, the greater is the regional unemployment persistence.
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Published date: 2001
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Local EPrints ID: 464496
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/464496
PURE UUID: 06cdf34e-d43f-4cf2-8240-33f8f6070650
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Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 19:33
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Author:
Zhongmin Wu
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