城市规模、社会网络与农民工的工作搜寻

City Size,Social Network and Job Search of Rural⁃to⁃Urban Migrants

以亲缘、地缘等为纽带的社会网络是农民工进行工作搜寻和实现就业的重要渠道。在劳动力市场相对完善的大城市中,农民工是否会减少对社会网络的依赖呢?本文以社会互动模型为基础,构建两区域劳动力市场均衡模型,在理论层面探讨了城市规模影响农民工借助社会网络渠道进行工作搜寻的机理。在理论模型基础上,本文将中国流动人口动态监测调查数据和城市数据相匹配进行实证检验,识别城市规模对农民工社会网络搜寻渠道的影响。鉴于常规模型的估计结果会因选择效应而存在偏误,本文运用含城市固定效应的两步法模型进行估计。研究发现,城市规模的扩大会显著提升农民工对社会网络搜寻渠道的依赖。进一步研究表明,大城市中的农民工依赖社会网络渠道搜寻,是对大城市公共就业服务不足的补充机制。

Employment is the most basic livelihood,and rural⁃to⁃urban migrants are an important force for employment.In order to improve their employment,China has issued a series of policies in recent years.However,rural⁃to⁃urban migrants still tend to rely on social networks based on kinship and geographical relationship to find employment.Compared with small and medium⁃sized cities,large cities have a more mature labor market and more job opportunities.The question this paper tries to answer is:Will rural⁃to⁃urban migrants who prefer big cities rely less on social networks for seeking employment?Based on the social interaction model,this paper constructs a two⁃region labor market equilibrium model.Specifically,it introduces the crowding effect of public services into the social interaction model.Analysis of theoretical model indicates that rural⁃to⁃urban migrants are more inclined to find a job through social network,when the crowding effect of public employment services exists.Therefore,the model deduces and analyses the impact mechanism of population agglomeration on rural⁃to⁃urban migrants'employment through social network.Analysis of the theoretical model provides a theoretical basis for empirical test.By matching China Migrants Dynamic Survey data with urban data,this paper identifies the effect of city size on rural⁃to⁃urban migrants'employment through social networks.To avoid bias in the estimation due to selection effects and omitted variables,this paper draws on relevant literature by using a two⁃stage model with city fixed effects.In addition,this paper further verifies the mechanism that city size affects rural⁃to⁃urban migrants'employment through social networks.It is found that the increase in city size will significantly increase the probability of rural⁃to⁃urban migrants finding a job through social networks.Further research shows that it is a supplement mechanism made by rural⁃to⁃urban migrants to the lack of public employment services in large cities.The main findings of this paper provide rich policy implications.Specifically,it is a fact that big cities draw migrants,including those from rural areas for work.Due to insufficient public employment services,rural⁃to⁃urban migrants in big cities have to rely on social networks to find a job,but this is not conducive for them to achieve high⁃quality employment,or protect their labor interests.Therefore,it is necessary to improve the system of public employment service and strengthen the protection of rural⁃to⁃urban migrants'labor rights and interests.Firstly,we should build a diversified service system for the employment and re⁃employment of rural⁃to⁃urban migrants.Secondly,we should double down on building grass⁃roots public employment platforms to achieve full coverage of the service network.Finally,a sound mechanism should be established to protect the labor rights and interests of rural⁃to⁃urban migrants.This paper's contributions are follows.(1)By introducing the crowding effect of public service into the social interaction model,this paper constructs a two⁃region labor market equilibrium model.(2)By using a two⁃step model with city fixed effects,this paper avoids estimation bias caused by the selection effect.(3)From the perspective of geography and history,this paper selects the instrumental variable of city size to identify the causal relationship.The topic of this paper deserves further research in the future.Specifically,in how city size affects rural⁃to⁃urban migrants'social networks,the hukou or household registration system is an important factor.For example,local governments always provide differentiated public services based on hukou,which makes rural⁃to⁃urban migrants unable to equally access local public employment services.How will the hukou or household registration system affect rural⁃to⁃urban migrants'employment through social networks?This question deserves further research.