Labour Markets in China: A Study of the Structure and Evolution of Wages

Xiaobing Wang (), Jenifer Piesse () and Zhengmao Ye ()
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Xiaobing Wang: Department of Economics, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Jenifer Piesse: Department of Management, King¡¯s College London, London, SE1 9NH, UK; University of stellenbosch, South Africa
Zhengmao Ye: Key Laboratory of Mathematical Economics, Ministry of Education; and School of Economics, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China

Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, 2016, vol. 11, issue 2, 265-301

Abstract: This paper examines the development of labour markets and the evolution of a structure of wages in China, using household surveys for 1988, 1995, 2002 and 2007. It finds evidence of both provincial and sectoral segmentation in labour markets, with eastern regions and the state-controlled sector enjoying high wage premiums in the early reform period. During the reform, China has progressed slowly towards an integrated labour market with convergence in incomes between the rural non-agriculture sector and the urban market-based sector by 1995, when industry flourished in the rural areas. The wage gap between the rural non-agriculture sector and other sectors increased and the urban state-controlled sector remained segmented with respect to all other sectors up to 2002. However, the data from 2007 show there has been increasing sectoral and spatial integration.

Keywords: China; labour markets; wage structure; migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 J42 J61 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fec:journl:v:11:y:2016:i:2:p:265-301

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