Journal
APPLIED ECONOMICS
Volume 49, Issue 43, Pages 4363-4377Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2017.1282146
Keywords
Migration; local social networks; gift exchange; China
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Funding
- Natural Science Foundation of China [71403286]
- Renmin University of China
- Center for Labor Economics and Public Policy at Zhejiang University
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This article empirically investigates the effect of local social capital on job-related migration in rural China. A household's social ties in the region of origin, which we refer to as local social capital, may deter migration, because local social capital is location specific and an individual cannot benefit from it if s/he migrates. In view of Chinese gift-giving culture, we use household expenses on wedding gifts for family members outside household, relatives and friends as a proxy for local social networks. Based on the data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, we find that in rural China local social networks have a significantly negative effect on migration. The IV results suggest that a 10% increase in wedding gifts expenses results in roughly a 1.1 percentage points decrease in migration probability.
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