Network Effects on LaborContracts of Internal Migrants in China- A Spatial Autoregressive Model

Badi Baltagi, YingDeng (ydeng.econ@gmail.com) and Xiangjun Ma (xm2e@virginia.edu)
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YingDeng: University of International Business and Economics
Xiangjun Ma: University of International Business and Economics

No 207, Center for Policy Research Working Papers from Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University

Abstract: This paper studies the fact that 37 percent of the internal migrants in China do not sign a labor contract with their employers, as revealed in a nationwide survey. These contract-free jobs pay lower hourly wages, require longer weekly work hours, and provide less insurance or on-the-job training than regular jobs with contracts. We find that the co-villager networks play an important role in a migrant’s decision on whether to accept such insecure and irregular jobs. By employing a comprehensive nationwide survey in 2011 in the spatial autoregressive logit model, we show that the common behavior of not signing contracts in the co-villager network increases the probability that a migrant accepts a contract-free job. We provide three possible explanations on how networks influence migrants’ contract decisions: job referral mechanism, limited information on contract benefits, and the "mini labor union" formed among co-villagers, which substitutes for a formal contract. In the sub-sample analysis, we also find that the effects are larger for migrants whose jobs were introduced by their covillagers, male migrants, migrants with rural Hukou, short-term migrants, and less educated migrants. The heterogeneous effects for migrants of different employer types, industries, and home provinces provide policy implications.

Keywords: Contract; Co-Villager Network; Spatial Autoregressive Logit Model; Internal Migrants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J14 O15 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2017-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-geo, nep-lab, nep-mig and nep-tra
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Downloads: (external link)
https://surface.syr.edu/cpr/242/ (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Network effects on labor contracts of internal migrants in China: a spatial autoregressive model (2018)
Working Paper: Network Effects on Labor Contracts of Internal Migrants in China: A Spatial Autoregressive Model (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:max:cprwps:207

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