Unemployment among Land-Losing Farmers in China

Evidence from the 2010 Census

Bibliographic Data

ID12422968
AuthorsChristopher Heurlin (0000-0003-2896-4947, Bowdoin College, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume28
Issue117
Pages434-452
Publication date2018-12-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary China (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1067-0564 • E-ISSN: 1469-9400
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10670564.2018.1542223
OpenAlexW2903800233
LanguageEN
Citations received7

How widespread is unemployment among land-losing farmers in China and what explains regional variations in unemployment? Using census data, this article shows that there were only roughly 1.7 million unemployed land-losing farmers in 2010. Case studies and quantitative analysis demonstrate that unemployment is concentrated in areas that have undergone large-scale land takings, often in the form of ‘new cities’ or ‘university cities.’ Less-educated farmers have been unable to compete in urban labor markets and have become unemployed, especially in poorer regions. The postfinancial crisis fiscal stimulus exacerbated these trends, making cities that received funding for rebuilding after the Wenchuan earthquake home to high numbers of unemployed land-losing farmers

Census · China · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Population · Sociology · Unemployment · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Demography

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub