ANU Research School of Economics (RSE)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/9281

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Jobs, working hours, and remuneration packages for migrants and urban residents
(Canberra, ACT: Research School of Economics, The Australian National University, 2009-04) Frijters, Paul; Lee, Leng; Meng, Xin
In this chapter we look at the working conditions and remuneration of migrants versus incumbent urban residents in China in the 2008 wave of the RUMiCI project. We find that the average hourly compensation for an urban worker is more than double that of migrants. Inequality of non-wage compensation is higher than that of hourly wages, mainly because urban workers are much more likely to benefit from various insurance schemes than migrants. Nearly three-quarters of the hourly compensation differences can be explained by observable characteristics. Returns to education and experience are lower for the migrants. They also have less education and accumulate less experience, perchance due to the temporary nature of the migration. We find strong differences between cities. For example, total compensation in Wuxi, Hefei, Ningbo and Chengdu is roughly the same for migrants as for the equivalent urban city dweller with the same characteristics. This equal treatment is also reflected in non-wage remuneration components. Yet in Chongqing and several other cities, a migrant is paid less than half the equivalent urban city dweller. This suggests that some cities ‘compete’ for migrants whilst others do not, and it also suggests that there are many city dwellers who would be better off if they move to other cities.
Open Access
Rural to urban migration in China:An overall view
(Canberra, ACT: Research School of Economics, The Australian National University, 2009-09) Frijters, Paul; Meng, Xin
China is not merely growing at more than double the rate of the European countries during the Industrial Revolution, it is also urbanising at double the speed. Using a unique dataset of rural-to-urban migrants in 15 major Chinese cities, we give preliminary answers to some of the most pressing policy questions: how many migrants are there and what are their attributes? Are they dissatisfied or are their children doing worse than the children of others? Are they discriminated against in the labour market and, if so, what are the mechanisms via which this discrimination works and where are the market forces to undo the discrimination?

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Browsing ANU Research School of Economics (RSE) by Author "Meng, Xin"