Topic: Migrants and Firms: Evidence from China

Speaker: ZHANG Yifan

Abstract: This paper estimates the causal effect of rural migration on urban production in China. Using a panel of Chinese manufacturing firms, we exploit exogenous variation in rural-urban migration due to agricultural price shocks. We find that following a migrant inflow, labor costs decline and employment expands. Labor productivity decreases sharply and remains low in the medium run. A quantitative framework suggests that migration mostly benefits low-productivity firms within locations. As migrants select into high-productivity destinations, migration however strongly contributes to the equalization of factor productivity across locations.

Date: Friday, April 19, 2019

Time: 09:30-11:00

Location: Room 406, the Main Building, Shahe Campus, CUFE