Expropriation with Hukou Change: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

33 Pages Posted: 30 Dec 2014 Last revised: 16 Apr 2023

See all articles by Mehtap Akgüc

Mehtap Akgüc

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS); IZA

Xingfei Liu

Concordia University, Quebec

Massimiliano Tani

University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

We study the labor market outcomes of males aged 18-60 obtaining an urban hukou as a result of land expropriation across a number of provinces in China. Using 2008 and 2009 RUMiC data pooling urban, rural and migrant samples, we find that those obtaining an urban hukou have better labour market outcomes than rural stayers and migrants, and close the gap vis-à-vis native urbanites. We also find that children of families experiencing a hukou change due to expropriation have similar investment in human capital as the children of native urban hukou holders.The results confirm the hukou status as a strong economic determinant of labor market outcomes and as a source of inequality. Differences in educational investment, regardless of the differences in parental background, appear however to disappear for the children of families experiencing expropriation, suggesting that leveling the hukou status amongst children in an urban area may be a first step towards reducing intergenerational inequality.

Keywords: quasi-experiment, expropriation, China, labour markets, economic reform

JEL Classification: D19, H13, J18, O12, O43, R20

Suggested Citation

Akgüc, Mehtap and Liu, Xingfei and Tani, Massimiliano, Expropriation with Hukou Change: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8689, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2543883 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2543883

Mehtap Akgüc (Contact Author)

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) ( email )

Brussels

IZA ( email )

Brussels

Xingfei Liu

Concordia University, Quebec ( email )

Massimiliano Tani

University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy ( email )

Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia
+612 6268 8512 (Phone)
+612 6248 8450 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/sbus/staff_cvs/about_max_t.html

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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