International trade liberalization and domestic institutional reform: Effects of WTO accession on Chinese internal migration policy

Yuan Tian

No 2020-17, Discussion Papers from University of Nottingham, GEP

Abstract: Economic institutions that impede factor mobility become more costly when an economy experiences substantial transitions such as trade liberalization. I study how trade triggers changes in labor institutions that regulate internal migration in the context of China’s Hukou system. Using a newly-collected dataset on prefecture-level migration policies, I document an increase in pro-migrant regulations following WTO entry and estimate the impact of prefecture-level trade shocks on migration regulations from 2001 to 2007. I find that regions facing more export market liberalization enacted more migrant-friendly regulations.

Keywords: Trade Liberalization; Institution; Migration Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-mig
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:not:notgep:2020-17

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