Are workers close to cities paid higher non-agricultural wages in rural China?

Chloé Duvivier Duvivier (1) , Mary-Françoise Renard (1) , Shi Li (2)

1 CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International
2 School of Economics and Business Administration - School of Economics and Business Administration

In the present study, we investigate whether workers close to cities are paid higher non-agricultural wages than workers in outlying rural areas. We find that workers close to urban areas not only benefit from more opportunities to engage in non-agricultural activities, but also from better paid jobs. In addition, distance exhibits a strongly nonlinear impact. Distance always has a negative impact on wages but the effect is more detrimental, the closer the village is to the urban center. We also find evidence of urban hierarchy effects: workers living close to bigger cities are paid higher wages. Finally, we provide evidence on the transmission channels at work.

Mots clés: Remoteness; regional labor market; China Codes; wages

Domaines: Economies et finances

Chloé Duvivier Duvivier, Mary-Françoise Renard, Shi Li. Are workers close to cities paid higher non-agricultural wages in rural China?. 2012. ⟨halshs-00673698⟩