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Begin New Search Topic Employment Political Geography China Content Type Working Paper Publishing Institution United Nations University Publication Year within 5 Years

1. The changing nature of work and earnings inequality in China

Author:
Chunbing Xing
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper examines the evolution of China’s industrial and occupational structure in the last two decades and its impact on wage inequality. We find that non-routine cognitive and interpersonal tasks have increased, while routine cognitive tasks first increased and then declined. Occupation structural change is accompanying rising wage inequality. The wage premium for educated workers rose sharply in the 1990s and remained high thereafter. Occupations with high routine task intensity are associated with lower wages. While the return to education has become the largest contributor to wage inequality, routine task intensities have yet to play a significant role.
Topic:
Education, Labor Issues, Employment, Inequality, and Work Culture
Political Geography:
China and Asia

2. Transforming informal work and livelihoods in China

Author:
Carl Shu-Ming Lin, Linxiang Ye, and Wei Zhang
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The informal sector has long been viewed as a locus of the disadvantaged, unskilled, and inexperienced workers in under-developed and developing economies. Workers in the informal sector, however, can learn skills and gain experience that could help them switch to better-paying jobs in the formal sector. But evidence of this is limited. China constitutes an important case study because it is the most populous country and has the largest labour force, consisting of over 290 million rural-to-urban migrants whose employment is mostly informal. Using three waves of nationally representative household surveys from 2014 to 2018, we study how the livelihoods of Chinese workers change when transitioning to different work statuses within or between formal and informal sectors. Our results show that transitioning jobs from the informal to the formal sector and from the self-employed to the wage-employed increases earnings, which improves the livelihoods of Chinese workers.
Topic:
Employment, Economic Development, Informal Economy, and Workforce
Political Geography:
China and Asia