Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP8778
Authors: Nancy H. Chau; Ravi Kanbur; Yu Qin
Abstract: How does the introduction of rural public work schemes impact individual incentives to migrate? This paper examines this question in the context of rural public work program (Yigong-daizhen) in China, and unveils empirical evidence that suggest that the introduction of Yigong-daizhen projects in fact stimulates outmigration at the village level, after controlling for village characteristics and project types. By furthermore accounting for the endogeneity of Yigong-daizhen placement, the impact of such projects is found to be even larger. These results are consistent with household migration behavior in the presence of significant cost of migration, and credit market imperfection.
Keywords: outmigration; public works schemes; rural China
JEL Codes: H53; J43; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| yigongdaizhen public work scheme (J68) | outmigration (F22) |
| yigongdaizhen public work scheme (J68) | employment opportunities (J68) |
| employment opportunities (J68) | outmigration (F22) |
| yigongdaizhen public work scheme (J68) | migration costs (F22) |
| migration costs (F22) | outmigration (F22) |
| yigongdaizhen public work scheme (J68) | productivity (O49) |
| productivity (O49) | outmigration (F22) |