Self‐selection and Earnings of Migrants: Evidence from Rural China

Zheren Wu

Asian Economic Journal, 2010, vol. 24, issue 1, 23-44

Abstract: Using data from a rural household survey in China, this paper explores the link between employment choice (nonworking, local farm work, local nonfarm work and migratory work) and migrant earnings. We find significant self‐selection in migration. Youths, men, better‐educated individuals and those in good health are more likely to migrate. In terms of unobserved characteristics, we find positive selection in migration to be related to the alternatives of not working and local farm work, and negative selection to be related to local nonfarm work. Controlling for self‐selection, the wage returns to gender (male), education and health are lower than those obtained from OLS, and the returns to experience are higher. More importantly, we find different self‐selection between individuals who have moved as pioneers and migrants from households in which other members have already migrated.

Date: 2010
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