Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Measuring Interprovincial Flows of Human Capital in China: 1995–2000

  • Published:
Population Research and Policy Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study measures the consequences of interprovincial migration in China in terms of the flows of human beings and the flows of human capital using two micro datasets. First, this study uses a household income survey dataset to estimate the earning returns to education as one of the two measurements of human capital. Then, the micro-dataset of the 2000 Chinese Census is used to calculate the flows of human capital among provinces by using the results from the estimation of human capital. The flows of human capital are then compared to the flows of human beings to see whether they go in the same directions and to the same extent. The results indicate that although in most of the cases, the flows of human beings and the flows of human capital are in the same directions, there are some cases that a province experienced a loss in human beings but a net gain in human capital, or vice versa. Second, some provinces are more adversely affected by the flows of human capital than others, which may not be seen by merely examining the flows of human beings. Third, non-hukou migration is different from hukou migration in volume, in scope of both gains and losses of human beings and human capital, and in directions for some provinces. Finally, we can conclude that measuring the flows of human capital is a useful way to observe how migration affects the potential of regional distribution of development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The Chinese Household Income Project, 1995 is a joint research effort sponsored by the Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Asian Development Bank and the Ford Foundation, and supported by the East Asian Institute and Columbia University.

  2. Calculated based on Chan and Yang’s (1996, p. 26) estimation.

  3. Shandong had a slight gain in migration (hukou and non-hukou migration) in the full sample according to PCO (2002).

References

  • Au, C. C., & Henderson, V. (2002). How migration restrictions limit agglomeration and productivity in China. NBER Working Paper No. W8707. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

  • Barro, R. J., & Lee, J. W. (1996). International measures of schooling years and schooling quality. The American Economic Review, 86(2), 218–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R. J., & Lee, J. W. (2001). International data on educational attainment: Updates and implications. Oxford Economic Papers, 53(3), 541–563. doi:10.1093/oep/53.3.541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1962). Investment in human capital: A theoretical analysis. The Journal of Political Economy, 70(Supplement), 9–49. doi:10.1086/258724.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, S., & Taylor, J. (1996). Human capital formation and local economic performance. Regional Studies, 30, 1–14. doi:10.1080/00343409612331349438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byron, R. P., & Manaloto, E. Q. (1990). Returns to education in China. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 38(4), 783–796. doi:10.1086/451833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, F., Guo, H., & Gao, J. (Eds.). (2001). Migration in China: Patterns and pathways: 1990–1999. Beijing: Social Science Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K. W., Liu, T., & Yang, Y. (1999). Hukou and non-hukou migrations in China: Comparison and contrasts. International Journal of Population Geography, 5, 425–448. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1220(199911/12)5:6<425::AID-IJPG158>3.0.CO;2-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, K. W., & Yang, Y. (1996). Inter-provincial migration in China in the post-1949 era: Types, spatial patterns, and comparisons. Seattle Population Research Center Working Paper No. 96-14, pp. 1–33.

  • Cheng, T., & Selden, M. (1994). The origins and social consequences of China’s hukou system. The China Quarterly, 139, 644–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Docquier, F., & Rapoport, H. (2004). Skilled migration: The prospective of developing countries. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3382. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2004/09/22/000160016_20040922151739/Rendered/PDF/WPS3382.pdf. Retrieved 28 December 2006.

  • Fan, L. (1995a). An analysis of the determinants of inter-provincial migration in China. Paper of the 1995 Annual Meeting of Population Association of America, April 6–8, San Francisco.

  • Fan, L. (1995b). An appraisal of equilibrium and disequilibrium models of population migration. Chinese Journal of Population Science, 7(1), 79–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fan, C. C. (2005a). Interprovincial migration, population redistribution, and regional development in China: 1990 and 2000 census comparisons. The Professional Geographer, 57(2), 295–311. doi:10.1111/j.0033-0124.2005.00479.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, C. C. (2005b). Modeling interprovincial migration in China, 1985–2000. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 46(3), 165–184. doi:10.2747/1538-7216.46.3.165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiess, N. M., & Verner, D. (2004). Migration and human capital in Brazil during the 1990s. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3093.

  • Ghatak, S., & Ingersent, K. A. (1984). Agriculture and economic development. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, M. J. (1988). Changing patterns of migration and regional economic growth in the U.S.: A demographic perspective. Growth and Change, 19(4), 68–87. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2257.1988.tb00483.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, M. J. (1997). Internal migration in developed countries. In M. R. Rosenberg & O. Stark (Eds.), Handbook of population and family economics (pp. 647–720). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science B.V.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hou, Y., & Wang, J. (2001). Human capital and the transformation of economic growth. Renkou Yanjiu. Population Research (Peking, China), 25(3), 13–19 (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jamison, D. T., & van der Gaag, J. (1987). Education and earnings in the People’s Republic of China. Economics of Education Review, 6(2), 161–166. doi:10.1016/0272-7757(87)90049-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanbur, R., & Rapoport, H. (2005). Migration selectivity and the evolution of spatial inequality. Journal of Economic Geography, 5, 43–57. doi:10.1093/jnlecg/lbh053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanbur, R., & Zhang, X. (1999). Which regional inequality? The evolution of rural–urban and inland–coastal inequality in China from 1983 to 1995. Journal of Comparative Economics, 27(4), 686–701. doi:10.1006/jcec.1999.1612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanbur, R., & Zhang, X. (2005). Spatial inequality in education and health care in China. China Economic Review, 16, 189–204. doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2005.02.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krieg, R. G. (1991). Human-capital selectivity in interstate migration. Growth and Change, 22(1), 68–76. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2257.1991.tb00542.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. B., & Lindahl, M. (2001). Education for growth: Why and for whom? Journal of Economic Literature, 39(4), 1101–1136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lei, G. (2001). Reconstituting the rural–urban divide: Peasant migration and the rise of ‘orderly migration’ in contemporary China. Journal of Contemporary China, 10(28), 471–493. doi:10.1080/10670560120067144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, S. (1999). Effects of labor out-migration on income growth and inequality in rural China. Development and Society, 28(1), 93–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang, Z., & Ma, Z. (2004). China’s floating population: New evidence from the 2000 Census. Population and Development Review, 30(3), 467–488. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.00024.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, Z., & Morooka, H. (2006). Migration networks and migration processes: The case of China. Paper of Annual Meeting of Population Association of America, March 30–April 1.

  • Liang, Z., & White, M. J. (1996). Internal migration in China: 1950–1988. Demography, 33(3), 375–384. doi:10.2307/2061768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, Z., & White, M. J. (1997). Market transition, government policies, and interprovincial migration in China: 1983–1988. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 45(2), 321–339. doi:10.1086/452276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J. Y., Wang, G., & Zhao, Y. (2004). Regional inequality and labor transfers in China. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 52(3), 587–603. doi:10.1086/421481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipshitz, G. (1991). Immigration and internal migration as a mechanism of polarization and dispersion of population and development: The Israeli case. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 39(2), 391–408. doi:10.1086/451876.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., Jr. (1988). On the mechanics of economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 22(3), 3–42. doi:10.1016/0304-3932(88)90168-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., Jr. (1990). Supply-side economics: An analytical review. Oxford Economic Papers, 42, 293–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mao, M. X. (2003). Determinants of interstate migration in the United States, 1985–1990: Macro and micro perspectives. Dissertation, Texas A&M University.

  • Mincer, J. (1958). Investment in human capital and personal income distribution. The Journal of Political Economy, 66(4), 281–302. doi:10.1086/258055.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mincer, J. (1962). On-the-job training: Costs, returns and some implications. The Journal of Political Economy, 70(5), 50–79. doi:10.1086/258725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molho, I. (1987). The migration decision of young men in Great Britain. Applied Economics, 19, 221–243. doi:10.1080/00036848700000099.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moock, P. R., Patrinos, H. A., & Venkataraman, M. (1998). Education and earnings in a transitional economy: Vietnam. Policy Research Working Paper 1920. The Word Bank. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/1999/08/15/000094946_99031911103117/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdf. Retrieved 24 December 2006.

  • Ngarambé, O., & Goetz, S. J. (1998). Determinants of regional income distribution in the U.S. South, 1980–1990. Roles of net migration and human capital accumulation. The Review of Black Political Economy, 26(2), 23–35. doi:10.1007/s12114-998-1002-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • PCO (Population Census Office under the State Council and Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China). (1993). Tabulations of the 1990 census of China. Beijing: China Statistics Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • PCO. (2002). Tabulations of the 2000 population of census of China. Beijing: Beijing Statistics Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pema, E. (2003). Essays on compensation structures and human capital migration. Dissertation, Michigan State University.

  • Poston, D. L., Jr, & Mao, M. X. (1998). Interprovincial migration in China, 1985–1990. Research in Rural Sociology and Development, 7, 227–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, H. W. (1973). Regional growth theory. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritsila, J., & Ovaskainen, M. (2001). Migration and regional centralization of human capital. Applied Economics, 33, 317–325. doi:10.1080/000368401455004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, K. D. (1997). China’s “tidal wave” of migrant labor: What can we learn from Mexican undocumented migration to the United States? The International Migration Review, 31(2), 249–293. doi:10.2307/2547220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rozelle, S. J., Taylor, E., & de Brauw, A. (1999). Migration, remittances, and agricultural productivity in China. The American Economic Review, 89(2), 267–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital. The American Economic Review, 51, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, T. W. (1963). The economic value of education. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, A. (1973). Interpreting the effect of distance on migration. The Journal of Political Economy, 81(5), 1153–1169. doi:10.1086/260111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, Y., & Tong, C. (1992). Zhongguo Renkou Qianyi (China’s population migration). Beijing: Statistical Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shryock, J. H. S., & Nam, C. B. (1965). Educational selectivity of interregional migration. Social Forces, 43(3), 299–310. doi:10.2307/2574759.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sjaastad, L. A. (1962). The costs and returns of human migration. The Journal of Political Economy, 70(5), 80–93. doi:10.1086/258726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solinger, D. J. (1999). Citizenship issues in China’s internal migration: Insights from comparisons with Germany and Japan. Political Science Quarterly, 114(3), 455–478. doi:10.2307/2658206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suval, E. M., & Hamilton, H. (1965). Some new evidence on educational selectivity of migration to and from the South. Social Forces, 43, 536–547. doi:10.2307/2574461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei, Y. D. (1999). Regional inequality in China. Progress in Human Geography, 23(1), 49–59. doi:10.1191/030913299676254572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, M. J., & Mueser, P. R. (1994). Changes in the demographic determinants of U.S. population mobility: 1940–80. The Review of Regional Studies, 24(3), 254–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wößmann, L. (2003). Specifying human capital. Journal of Economic Surveys, 17(3), 239–269. doi:10.1111/1467-6419.00195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, D. (1990). Patterns of China’s regional development strategy. The China Quarterly, 122, 230–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, D. T., & Cai, F. (2000). The political economy of China’s rural–urban divide. Working Paper No. 62. Center for Research on Economic Development and Policy Reform, Stanford University.

  • Yang, D. T., & Zhou, H. (1999). Rural–urban disparity and sectoral labour allocation in China. The Journal of Development Studies, 35(3), 105–133. doi:10.1080/00220389908422575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, L. (2002). Spatiality and urban citizenship in late socialist China. Public Culture, 14(2), 311–334. doi:10.1215/08992363-14-2-311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, Y. (1999a). Leaving the countryside: Rural-to-urban migration decisions in China. The American Economic Review, 89(2), 267–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, Y. (1999b). Labor migration and earnings differences: The case of rural China. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 47(4), 767–782. doi:10.1086/452431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, X. (1997). China’s regional inequality and related long-term policies. Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies, 9(2), 115–128. doi:10.1111/j.1467-940X.1997.tb00100.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada, P7B 5E1

    Lida Fan

Authors
  1. Lida Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lida Fan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fan, L. Measuring Interprovincial Flows of Human Capital in China: 1995–2000. Popul Res Policy Rev 28, 367–387 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-008-9103-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-008-9103-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation