Labour supply in China 1982-2002

Abstract

The thesis analyses the current situation of the labour force in China, including its dimensions, composition, structure, distribution and participation patterns. Furthermore, based on this, a projection is made of the future supply of the labour force in China during 1982-2002. The analysis is based mainly on 1982 Population Census data. The thesis is organized in six chapters. The first one is an introduction in which the importance and definition of labour force studies and some basic background information about China will be explained. The second and third chapters analyse the current situation of the labour force and trends of labour force participation. It is demonstrated that rapid growth of the labour force in China since 1949 has resulted in continuing structural problems which have not been conducive to development of a modern economy. These two chapters are also the preparation for constructing tables of economically active life and labour force projections in the next two chapters. Here it is shown that the structural imbalances in the labour force of China are likely to continue. The last chapter is a summary of the thesis. Some suggestions or questions are presented in this chapter, based on the work in previous chapters. Show more