This paper provides a systematic analysis of the way shifts in property utilization rights in China induced another sequence of institutional changes that led to the rise of rural-urban labor migration from 1980 to 1984, a critical period in the country's market transition. I show that the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper, starting from a theoretical framework, is to analyze the spillover effects of human capital brought by labor mobility and their influence on the public education investment. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the endogenous growth theory, the paper...

China is on the eve of a demographic shift that will have profound consequences on its economic and social landscape. Within a few years the working age population will reach a historical peak, and then begin a precipitous decline. This fact, along with anecdotes of rapidly rising migrant wages...

This paper provides new evidence on the impact of private property rights and employer-provided housing on entrepreneurship. I find an increase in self-employment following a reform in urban China that allowed state employees who were renting state-owned housing the opportunity to buy their...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper, starting from a theoretical framework, is to analyze the spillover effects of human capital brought by labor mobility and their influence on the public education investment. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the endogenous growth theory, the paper...

Using the World Bank survey of 1500 firms in five Chinese cities, we study whether the presence of foreign firms produces technology spillovers on domestic firms operating in the same city and industry. We find positive spillovers for more backward firms. We analyze the channels of such...

China’s Hukou system poses severe restrictions on labor mobility. This paper assesses the consequences of relaxing these restrictions for China’s internal economic geography. We base our analysis on a new economic geography model. First, we obtain estimates of the important model parameters...

The "dual-track approach" for transition would have to be facilitated by an endogenous movement of workers away from the state into private jobs. Yet, using the Chinese Household Income Project Series (CHIPs) data for the year 2002, we document preferences and premiums for state jobs in urban...