2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
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abstract: 'Over the past few decades of economic reform, China''s labor markets have
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been transformed to an increasingly market-driven system. China has two
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segregated economies: the rural and urban. Understanding the shifting
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nature of this divide is probably the key to understanding the most
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important labor market reform issues of the last decades and the decades
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ahead. From 1949, the Chinese economy allowed virtually no labor
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mobility between the rural and urban sectors. Rural-urban segregation
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was enforced by a household registration system called ``hukou.{''''}
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Individuals born in rural areas receive ``agriculture hukou{''''} while
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those born in cities are designated as ``nonagricultural hukou.{''''} In
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the countryside, employment and income were linked to the commune-based
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production system. Collectively owned communes provided very basic
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coverage for health, education, and pensions. In cities, state-assigned
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life-time employment, centrally determined wages, and a cradle-to-grave
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social welfare system were implemented. In the late 1970s, China''s
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economic reforms began, but the timing and pattern of the changes were
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quite different across rural and urban labor markets. This paper focuses
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on employment and wages in the urban labor markets, the interaction
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between the urban and rural labor markets through migration, and future
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labor market challenges. Despite the remarkable changes that have
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occurred, inherited institutional impediments still play an important
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role in the allocation of labor; the hukou system remains in place, and
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72 percent of China''s population is still identified as rural hukou
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holders. China must continue to ease its restrictions on rurala is an
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element of urban migration, and must adopt policies to close the
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widening rural-urban gap in education, or it risks suffering both a
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shortage of workers in the growing urban areas and a deepening
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urban-rural economic divide.'
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affiliation: 'Meng, X (Corresponding Author), Australian Natl Univ, Res Sch Econ,
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Coll Business \& Econ, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
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Australian Natl Univ, Res Sch Econ, Coll Business \& Econ, Canberra, ACT, Australia.'
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author: Meng, Xin
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author-email: xin.meng@anu.edu.au
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author_list:
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- family: Meng
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given: Xin
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da: '2023-09-28'
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doi: 10.1257/jep.26.4.75
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eissn: 1944-7965
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files: []
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issn: 0895-3309
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journal: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES
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keywords-plus: URBAN CHINA; EDUCATION; INEQUALITY; POLICY; INCOME
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language: English
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month: FAL
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number: '4'
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number-of-cited-references: '73'
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pages: 75-101
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papis_id: 8ea1f0abf2283c9b1b3a58adad9bdd64
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ref: Meng2012labormarket
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times-cited: '230'
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title: Labor Market Outcomes and Reforms in China
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2023-10-01 08:15:07 +00:00
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type: article
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2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
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unique-id: WOS:000310776500005
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usage-count-last-180-days: '12'
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usage-count-since-2013: '100'
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volume: '26'
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web-of-science-categories: Economics
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year: '2012'
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