Higher minimum wage, better labour market returns for rural migrants? Evidence from China
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Yanling Peng; Houjian Li; Bente Castro Campos; Yanjun Ren
- Source
- Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja
Volume 34
Issue 1
Ekonomska Istraživanja, Vol 34, Iss 1, Pp 1814-1835 (2021)
- Subject
- Economics and Econometrics
China
J38
J33
rural migrants
Economic growth, development, planning
Regional economics. Space in economics
minimum wage
HT388
HD72-88
Economics
ddc:330
labour market returns
Household income
Minimum wage
Market return
Demographic economics
J31
china
health care economics and organizations
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1848-9664
1331-677X
Using data from the 2013 China Household Income Project (CHIP), this study investigates the effects of minimum wages on labour market returns for rural migrants in China and sheds light on the potential underlying mechanisms of these effects. An instrumental variable estimation is used to address the endogeneity problem of minimum wages on labour market returns. Our empirical findings indicate that minimum wages have positive effects on migrants’ wages. Specifically, we observe higher effects for women and migrants who have higher education levels. Regarding the possible mechanisms through which minimum wages influence migrants’ labour market returns, we find that minimum wages tend to increase rural migrants’ working time but have no significant effects on allowances related to work. We could not obtain conclusive results for social insurance due to its potential endogeneity.