The debate over whether boarding school is beneficial for students still exists in both developing and developed countries. In rural China, as a result of a national school merger program that began in 2001, the numbe...The debate over whether boarding school is beneficial for students still exists in both developing and developed countries. In rural China, as a result of a national school merger program that began in 2001, the number of boarding students has increased dramatically. Little research has been done, however, to measure how boarding status may be correlated with nutrition, health and educational outcomes. In this paper, we compare the outcomes of boarding to those of non-boarding students using a large, aggregate dataset that includes 59 rural counties across five provinces in China. We find that for all outcomes boarding students perform worse than non-boarding students. Despite these differences, the absolute levels of all outcomes are low for both boarding and non-boarding students, indicating a need for new policies that will target all rural students regardless of their boarding status.展开更多
This paper contributes to the assessment of China＇s rural labor markets. According to our data, the increase in off-farm employment that China experienced during the 1980s and 1990s continued during the 2000s. Our an...This paper contributes to the assessment of China＇s rural labor markets. According to our data, the increase in off-farm employment that China experienced during the 1980s and 1990s continued during the 2000s. Our analysis shows that migration has become the most prevalent off-farm activity, although the destination of migrants is shifting from outside of one＇s province to destinations closer to home. The present paperfinds that large shares of male and female individuals, especially those under 40 years, are working off the farm. These findings represent an important contribution to the labor economics field. First, the results of the present paper reveal that the labor transition from the agricultural sector to the non-agricultural sector for key segments of China＇s rural labor force is nearly complete. Second, although a large share of China ＂s rural labor force work in agriculture, most of these workers are older men and women （and likely would not be willing to take low-wage, labor-intensive jobs）. Third, the rising unskilled wage rate in China is partially a result of the tightening of the labor force in the young age cohorts. Finally, due to factors associated with the one child policy and other demographic transition forces, successive age cohorts will continue to fall in absolute number in the coming decade. Assuming China＇s growth continues, we expect to see further wage increases since it will take higher wages to coax more workers to work off the farm.展开更多
The present study considers how education affects off-farm job participation and wages. We use a nationally representative dataset from a survey conducted in 5 provinces, 101 villages and 808 households by the authors...The present study considers how education affects off-farm job participation and wages. We use a nationally representative dataset from a survey conducted in 5 provinces, 101 villages and 808 households by the authors in early 2005. The empirical results show that educational attainment, skill training and years of experience of rural residents have positive, statistically significant effects on off-farm employment. The average return to a year of education is 7percent, which is higher than those observed in previous studies. We also find the return to an additional year of schooling to be higher for post-junior high schooling than for junior high and below schooling： 11.8 versus 3.2 percent. We conclude that not only does education still pays off in rural China, but also the rate of return to education is increasing over time.展开更多
Using village data from samples covering 6provinces, 36 counties and 216 townships, the income inequalities within and between townships in rural China are assessed. The Theil index and the mean logarithmic deviation ...Using village data from samples covering 6provinces, 36 counties and 216 townships, the income inequalities within and between townships in rural China are assessed. The Theil index and the mean logarithmic deviation methods enable us to test income inequality at the township level, and to decompose it into intra-regional and inter-regional at county and provincial levels. In the present paper, we also decompose income inequalities between and within the nationally designated poor counties （NDPC）. The results show that approximately two-thirds of the income inequality in rural China would be eliminated if measures and policies were targeted at the county level. This study also confirms the rationale that China ＇s poverty alleviation strategy of focusing on poor counties based on the inequalities between NDPC and non-NDPC accounts for the most inter-province inequality.展开更多
Despite their recent deterioration, village clinics have historically been an important source of health care for the poor and elderly in rural China. In this paper, we examine the current role of village clinics, the...Despite their recent deterioration, village clinics have historically been an important source of health care for the poor and elderly in rural China. In this paper, we examine the current role of village clinics, the patients who use them and some of the services they provide. We focus specifically on the role of village clinics in meeting the health-care needs of the rural poor and elderly. We find that although clinics are continuing to decline financially, they remain a source of care for the rural elderly and poor. We estimate that the elderly are 10-15 percent more likely than young individuals to seek care at a clinic. We show that clinics provide many unique services to support the rural elderly （and the elderly poor）, such as in-home patient care, the option for patients to pay on credit, and free and discounted services.展开更多
The general goal of the present study is to analyze whether children with siblings lag behind their only-child counterparts in terms of health and nutrition, cognition and educational performance, and non-cognitive ou...The general goal of the present study is to analyze whether children with siblings lag behind their only-child counterparts in terms of health and nutrition, cognition and educational performance, and non-cognitive outcomes. We draw on a dataset containing 25 871 observations constructed from three school-level surveys spanning four provinces in China. The analysis compares children with siblings and only children aged 9 to 14 years old in terms of eight different health, cognitive and non-cognitive indicators. We find that with the exception of the anemia rate, health outcomes of children with siblings are statistically indistinguishable from those of only children. In terms of cognition, children with siblings performed better than only children. Moreover, outcomes of children with siblings are statistically indistinguishable from those of only children in terms of the non-cognitive outcomes provided by measures of anxiety. According to our results, the same general findings are true regardless of whether the difference between children with and without siblings is disaggregated by gender.展开更多
基金The authors acknowledge the financial assistance of the National Natural Science Foundation of China （grant number 71473239） and the 111 talent recruitment base of the Chinese Ministry of Education and State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs （grant number B16031）.
文摘The debate over whether boarding school is beneficial for students still exists in both developing and developed countries. In rural China, as a result of a national school merger program that began in 2001, the number of boarding students has increased dramatically. Little research has been done, however, to measure how boarding status may be correlated with nutrition, health and educational outcomes. In this paper, we compare the outcomes of boarding to those of non-boarding students using a large, aggregate dataset that includes 59 rural counties across five provinces in China. We find that for all outcomes boarding students perform worse than non-boarding students. Despite these differences, the absolute levels of all outcomes are low for both boarding and non-boarding students, indicating a need for new policies that will target all rural students regardless of their boarding status.
基金funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(71110107028,71033003 and 70803005)the Chinese Academy of Sciences(KZZD-EW-06-02)the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences(2011RC102 and 2012ZD008)
文摘This paper contributes to the assessment of China＇s rural labor markets. According to our data, the increase in off-farm employment that China experienced during the 1980s and 1990s continued during the 2000s. Our analysis shows that migration has become the most prevalent off-farm activity, although the destination of migrants is shifting from outside of one＇s province to destinations closer to home. The present paperfinds that large shares of male and female individuals, especially those under 40 years, are working off the farm. These findings represent an important contribution to the labor economics field. First, the results of the present paper reveal that the labor transition from the agricultural sector to the non-agricultural sector for key segments of China＇s rural labor force is nearly complete. Second, although a large share of China ＂s rural labor force work in agriculture, most of these workers are older men and women （and likely would not be willing to take low-wage, labor-intensive jobs）. Third, the rising unskilled wage rate in China is partially a result of the tightening of the labor force in the young age cohorts. Finally, due to factors associated with the one child policy and other demographic transition forces, successive age cohorts will continue to fall in absolute number in the coming decade. Assuming China＇s growth continues, we expect to see further wage increases since it will take higher wages to coax more workers to work off the farm.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.7 0225003)the World Bank+1 种基金the Ford Foundationthe Canadian International Development Agency
文摘The present study considers how education affects off-farm job participation and wages. We use a nationally representative dataset from a survey conducted in 5 provinces, 101 villages and 808 households by the authors in early 2005. The empirical results show that educational attainment, skill training and years of experience of rural residents have positive, statistically significant effects on off-farm employment. The average return to a year of education is 7percent, which is higher than those observed in previous studies. We also find the return to an additional year of schooling to be higher for post-junior high schooling than for junior high and below schooling： 11.8 versus 3.2 percent. We conclude that not only does education still pays off in rural China, but also the rate of return to education is increasing over time.
文摘Using village data from samples covering 6provinces, 36 counties and 216 townships, the income inequalities within and between townships in rural China are assessed. The Theil index and the mean logarithmic deviation methods enable us to test income inequality at the township level, and to decompose it into intra-regional and inter-regional at county and provincial levels. In the present paper, we also decompose income inequalities between and within the nationally designated poor counties （NDPC）. The results show that approximately two-thirds of the income inequality in rural China would be eliminated if measures and policies were targeted at the county level. This study also confirms the rationale that China ＇s poverty alleviation strategy of focusing on poor counties based on the inequalities between NDPC and non-NDPC accounts for the most inter-province inequality.
基金the financial assistance of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(71103171 and 71033003)the Chinese Academy of Sciences(KZZD-EW-06-02)the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences(2011RC 102)
文摘Despite their recent deterioration, village clinics have historically been an important source of health care for the poor and elderly in rural China. In this paper, we examine the current role of village clinics, the patients who use them and some of the services they provide. We focus specifically on the role of village clinics in meeting the health-care needs of the rural poor and elderly. We find that although clinics are continuing to decline financially, they remain a source of care for the rural elderly and poor. We estimate that the elderly are 10-15 percent more likely than young individuals to seek care at a clinic. We show that clinics provide many unique services to support the rural elderly （and the elderly poor）, such as in-home patient care, the option for patients to pay on credit, and free and discounted services.
文摘The general goal of the present study is to analyze whether children with siblings lag behind their only-child counterparts in terms of health and nutrition, cognition and educational performance, and non-cognitive outcomes. We draw on a dataset containing 25 871 observations constructed from three school-level surveys spanning four provinces in China. The analysis compares children with siblings and only children aged 9 to 14 years old in terms of eight different health, cognitive and non-cognitive indicators. We find that with the exception of the anemia rate, health outcomes of children with siblings are statistically indistinguishable from those of only children. In terms of cognition, children with siblings performed better than only children. Moreover, outcomes of children with siblings are statistically indistinguishable from those of only children in terms of the non-cognitive outcomes provided by measures of anxiety. According to our results, the same general findings are true regardless of whether the difference between children with and without siblings is disaggregated by gender.
