The title investigates rural labor mobility in China since 2003, an important phenomenon in the process of Chinese economic transition, influential in economic growth at the macro level and individual wellbeing at the micro level.
Based on empirical analysis, the study identifies and evaluates the characteristics, driving forces and impact of the migration and mobility of the rural labor force. The following factors are considered to impact rural workers' mobility decisions and are thoroughly discussed in each chapter: (1) convergence in the level of regional income, (2) industrial structure and the age structure of the workforce, (3) the household registration system, (4) the income gap, (5) the issue of children that are left behind, (6) the health status of rural migrant workers and (7) their social networks. Drawing on new research methods, the final chapter reassesses the impact of rural parents' migration to the city and the overall wellbeing of their children left behind at home, challenging the well-accepted view that there is a negative correlation between the two.
The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in labor economics, Chinese economy, sociology, demography, migrant population and especially labor mobility in China.
1. Summary of Total Amount of the Migrant Workers and Their Current Working Locations and Living Conditions 2. Regional Economic Convergence and Employment 3. The Impact of Mismatch between the Industrial Structure and the Age Structure of Laborers on Labor Force Migration 4. The Impact of the Registered Residence System Reform on Labor Migration in China 5. The Impact of Relative Income on the Mobility of Rural Labor 6. The Interaction between Rural Labor Mobility and the Schooling of Left-behind Children 7. Changes in the Health of Migrant Workers and in the Location of Migrant Workers 8. Social Network and Mobility of Migrant Workers: Investigation and Analysis based on the Characteristics of Rehired Migrant Workers following the Financial Crisis Impact 9. The Impact of Parents Working as Migrant Workers on the Health of Left-behind Children: Re-examination Based on Micro-panel Data 10. Summary
Biography
Sun Wenkai is Professor in the School of Economics at Renmin University of China. His research focuses on labor economics and development economics, especially on the study of labor mobility in China.
