The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China
The economic restructuring in China over the past decade has resulted in displacement of millions of workers who had been employed in the state sector. This has posed tremendous challenges economically, socially, politically, and culturally. For several years, Chinese policies attempted to cushion t...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5417 |
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okr-10986-54172021-04-23T14:02:22Z The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China Betcherman, Gordon Blunch, Niels-Hugo Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure J210 Labor Turnover Vacancies Layoffs J630 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses Transportation O180 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets Industry Studies Population P230 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics P250 Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Regional Migration Regional Labor Markets Population Neighborhood Characteristics R230 The economic restructuring in China over the past decade has resulted in displacement of millions of workers who had been employed in the state sector. This has posed tremendous challenges economically, socially, politically, and culturally. For several years, Chinese policies attempted to cushion the shock by requiring state-owned enterprises to provide living allowances and reemployment services to workers who had been displaced. There have been few empirical studies that have tracked the experiences of these displaced or xiagang workers. This study uses survey data from two large industrial cities covering the period 1998-2000 to analyze the labor market situation of over 2,000 workers 2 years after they had been observed as displaced and unemployed. The findings point to the high rates of labor force withdrawal and a low proportion who find another wage job in the formal sector. It also documents the large number of workers who find work in the informal sector which seems to act as an important safety net. Not surprisingly, education is an important determinant of post-layoff labor market outcomes. Active labor market interventions do not seem to make a substantial difference although there is some evidence from the duration analysis that training does help workers find employment more quickly than they would have otherwise. 2012-03-30T07:32:43Z 2012-03-30T07:32:43Z 2008 Journal Article Economic Change and Restructuring 15739414 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5417 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article China |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure J210 Labor Turnover Vacancies Layoffs J630 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses Transportation O180 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets Industry Studies Population P230 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics P250 Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Regional Migration Regional Labor Markets Population Neighborhood Characteristics R230 |
| spellingShingle |
Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure J210 Labor Turnover Vacancies Layoffs J630 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses Transportation O180 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets Industry Studies Population P230 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics P250 Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Regional Migration Regional Labor Markets Population Neighborhood Characteristics R230 Betcherman, Gordon Blunch, Niels-Hugo The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China |
| geographic_facet |
China |
| relation |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo |
| description |
The economic restructuring in China over the past decade has resulted in displacement of millions of workers who had been employed in the state sector. This has posed tremendous challenges economically, socially, politically, and culturally. For several years, Chinese policies attempted to cushion the shock by requiring state-owned enterprises to provide living allowances and reemployment services to workers who had been displaced. There have been few empirical studies that have tracked the experiences of these displaced or xiagang workers. This study uses survey data from two large industrial cities covering the period 1998-2000 to analyze the labor market situation of over 2,000 workers 2 years after they had been observed as displaced and unemployed. The findings point to the high rates of labor force withdrawal and a low proportion who find another wage job in the formal sector. It also documents the large number of workers who find work in the informal sector which seems to act as an important safety net. Not surprisingly, education is an important determinant of post-layoff labor market outcomes. Active labor market interventions do not seem to make a substantial difference although there is some evidence from the duration analysis that training does help workers find employment more quickly than they would have otherwise. |
| format |
Journal Article |
| author |
Betcherman, Gordon Blunch, Niels-Hugo |
| author_facet |
Betcherman, Gordon Blunch, Niels-Hugo |
| author_sort |
Betcherman, Gordon |
| title |
The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China |
| title_short |
The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China |
| title_full |
The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China |
| title_fullStr |
The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Limited Job Prospects of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Two Cities in China |
| title_sort |
limited job prospects of displaced workers: evidence from two cities in china |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5417 |
| _version_ |
1764394980704518144 |