Informal search, bad search?: the effects of job search method on wages among rural migrants in urban China

Abstract

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Higher minimum wage, better labour market returns for rural migrants? Evidence from China

“…Most of the rural migrants started working after graduating from middle school when they were about 16 years old, especially after the implementation of the Nine-Years Compulsory Schooling Law and the Provisions on the Prohibition of Using Child Labor (Castro Campos et al, 2016;Xie & Mo, 2014), which were implemented in 1986 and 1991, respectively. Wang (2012) determines the legal minimum working age as 16 years and the maximum mandatory retirement age as 65 years, since many older migrants continue to work full time even after they have reached the official retirement age of 60 years (Chen et al, 2018). Finally, we restrict our sample to those who reported to work for more than 15 days per month, since we only consider migrants' market returns from their main occupation and exclude those whose returns may be from secondary jobs (Chen et al, 2018).…”

“…Wang (2012) determines the legal minimum working age as 16 years and the maximum mandatory retirement age as 65 years, since many older migrants continue to work full time even after they have reached the official retirement age of 60 years (Chen et al, 2018). Finally, we restrict our sample to those who reported to work for more than 15 days per month, since we only consider migrants' market returns from their main occupation and exclude those whose returns may be from secondary jobs (Chen et al, 2018).…”

“…Using these different scales enables us to detect the differential effects of minimum wages on rural migrants' labour market returns, since the majority of rural migrants in urban areas do not have permanent contracts (Du & Pan, 2009). Related studies only consider monthly or annual salaries (Chen et al, 2018;Lin & Yun, 2016;Sun et al, 2015). For instance, Chen et al (2018) use monthly salaries from the primary job and calculate annual salaries by multiplying monthly salaries by 12.…”

“…Related studies only consider monthly or annual salaries (Chen et al, 2018;Lin & Yun, 2016;Sun et al, 2015). For instance, Chen et al (2018) use monthly salaries from the primary job and calculate annual salaries by multiplying monthly salaries by 12. However, this means that if rural migrants do not have a long-term contract for 12 consecutive months, their wages will be largely overestimated.…”

Does cognition matter? Applying the push‐pull‐mooring model to Chinese farmers' willingness to withdraw from rural homesteads

“…When farmers' total income is relatively high, especially if it is higher than the average in Changzhou, farmers have more positive attitudes toward their future urban life and are more willing to engage in urban activity (Chen et al, ). Denser urban networks suggest more job search channels and greater opportunities for employment (Chen, Wang, & Zhang, ).…”