Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15496
Authors: Shu Cai; Klaus F. Zimmermann
Abstract: Previous research has found identity to be relevant for international migration, but has neglected internal mobility as in the case of the Great Chinese Migration. However, the context of the identities of migrants and their adaption in the migration process is likely to be quite different. The gap is closed by examining social assimilation and the effect on the labor market outcomes of migrants in China, the country with the largest record of internal mobility. Using instrumental variable estimation, the study finds that identifying as local residents significantly increase migrants’ hourly wages and reduce hours worked, although their monthly earnings remained barely changed. Further findings suggest that migrants with strong local identity are more likely to use local networks in job search, and to obtain jobs with higher average wages and lower average hours worked per day.
Keywords: social assimilation; identity; labor market; migration
JEL Codes: J22; J31; J61; Z13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| social assimilation (Z13) | hourly wages (J31) |
| social assimilation (Z13) | average hours worked per day (J38) |
| social assimilation (Z13) | probability of working more than eight hours a day (J29) |