The Effect of Parental Migration on the Educational Attainment of Their Left-Behind Children in Rural China

Wang Sophie Xuefei ()
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Wang Sophie Xuefei: China Center for Human Capital and Labor Market Research, Central University of Finance and Economics, 39 Xueyuan South Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2014, vol. 14, issue 3, 1037-1080

Abstract: About 60 million children under the age of 18 are left behind by their parents in rural China. This paper studies the effect of migrant parents on the educational attainment of their left-behind children in rural China. A theoretical model of optimal schooling in the context of parental migration is proposed. Then, reduced-form equations are estimated using probit model, instrumental variables probit model, and linear instrumental variables model. Results show that parental migration has a negative effect on children’s school enrollment. This negative effect is significant and sizable on the school enrollment of boys, but insignificant on the school enrollment of girls. The most important source of this robust negative effect on boys is the absence of fathers. Results suggest that left-behind mothers or relatives cannot fulfill fathers’ role successfully in disciplining boys and help with their educational needs.

Keywords: internal migration; school enrollment; education; children; rural China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2013-0067

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