The Effect of Inflation on Domestic Migrant Worker Households in China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-7092.2013.02.29Keywords:
Domestic immigration workers, inflation, expenditure, happiness, satisfactionAbstract
Domestic migration workers and inflation are two phenomena attracting attention from worldwide scholars. The article endeavors to accomplish the following three tasks: a) describe the characteristics of inflation and immigration situations in China; b) study the effect of inflation on domestic immigrants' the expenditures; c) understand the effect of inflation on immigrants' happiness and satisfaction. The paper found out that in all the eight expenditure categories, only three categories (food, clothing and housing) are negatively affected by inflation. Other five expenditure categories (health and medical, house equipment, facilities and services, entertainment, educational and cultural activities, transportation and communication, tuition, and miscellaneous) are positively affected by inflation. The biggest reduction of expenditure is in transportation and communication with a coefficient of -0.025. The paper also found out that the lower income group's expenditure is more affected by inflation then higher income group. The paper showed that inflation didn't have a significant effect on people's feeling of happiness and their satisfaction.References
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Shiller, Robert J. 1996. “Why do People Dislike Inflation?” NBER Working Paper 5539.
Song, Shunfeng. 2001. “City Size and Urban Unemployment: Evidence from China.” World Economy and China 9(1): 46–53.
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Song, Shunfeng, and Kevin Honglin Zhang. 2002. “Urbanization and City-Size Distribution in China.” Urban Studies 39(12): 2317-2327.
Wang, Jingmin, and Zhang, Jianqing. 2009. “Thoughts on China’s Growth of Economy and Inflation.” Asian Social Science 4(4), 15-26.
Wu, Harry Xiaoying. 1994. “Rural to Urban Migration in the People’s Republic of China.” China Quarterly 139: 669-698.
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Zhao, Yanyun. 1999. “Leaving the Countryside: Rural–Urban Migration Decisions in China.” American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 89(2): 276–280.
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Brandt, Loren, and Xiaodong Zhu. 2000. “Redistribution in a Decentralized Economy: Growth and Inflation in China under Reform.” Journal of Political Economy 108(2): 422-439.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/262124
Chang, Gene H. (2003). “Urbanization and Unemployment in China.” in Chen, Gene H. Liu, and K. Zhang (Eds.), Urbanization and social welfare in China (pp. 96–105). UK: Ashgate.
Chang, Gene H., and Josef C. Brada (2002). “China’s Urbanization Lags during the Period of Reform: A Paradox.” Working Paper. University of Toledo and Arizona State University.
Chen, Shaohua, and Martin Ravallion. 2008. “China is Poorer than We Thought, but No Less Successful in the Fight against Poverty.” World Bank Working Paper 4621.
Easterly, William, and Stanley Fischer. 2001. “Inflation and the Poor.” Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 33(2): 160-178.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2673879
Fan, Cindy C. 2000. Book review of the Changing Population of China. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Hare, Denise. 1999. “Push’ versus ‘Pull’ Factors in Migration Outflows and Returns: Determinants of Migration Status and Spell duration among China’s Rural Population. ” Journal of Development Studies 35(3): 45–72.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220389908422573
Kahneman, Daniel, Edward Diener, and Norbert Schwarz (Eds.). 2003. Well-being: the Foundations of Hedonic Psychology (pp. 330-350). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/089533006776526030
Kahneman, Daniel, and Alan B. Krueger. 2006. “Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-being.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 20(1): 3-24.
Knight, John, and Lina Song. 1999. The Rural – Urban Divide: Economic Disparities and Interactions in China. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198293309.001.0001
Kohler, Behrman, and Axel Skytthe. 2005. “Partner + Children = Happiness? The Effects of Partnerships and Fertility on Well-being.” Population and Development Review 31(1): 407–445.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2005.00078.x
Lucas, E. Robert. 2000. “Inflation and Welfare.” Econometrica 68(2): 247-274.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0262.00109
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. and Rusting, C.L. 1999. “Gender Differences in Well-being.” In D.
Oreopoulos, Philip. 2007. “Do Dropouts Drop Out Too Soon? Wealth, Health and Happiness from Compulsory Schooling.” Journal of Public Economics 91(11-12): 2213-29.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2007.02.002
Romer, David. 1993. “Openness and Inflation: Theory and Evidence.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 108(4): 869-903.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2118453
Seeborg, Michael. C., Jin, Zhenhu, and Zhu, Yiping. 2000. “The New Rural–urban Labor Mobility in China: Causes and Implications.” Journal of Social Economics, 29, 39–56.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1053-5357(00)00052-4
Shiller, Robert J. 1996. “Why do People Dislike Inflation?” NBER Working Paper 5539.
Song, Shunfeng. 2001. “City Size and Urban Unemployment: Evidence from China.” World Economy and China 9(1): 46–53.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0042098022000033890
Song, Shunfeng, and Kevin Honglin Zhang. 2002. “Urbanization and City-Size Distribution in China.” Urban Studies 39(12): 2317-2327.
Wang, Jingmin, and Zhang, Jianqing. 2009. “Thoughts on China’s Growth of Economy and Inflation.” Asian Social Science 4(4), 15-26.
Wu, Harry Xiaoying. 1994. “Rural to Urban Migration in the People’s Republic of China.” China Quarterly 139: 669-698.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305741000043095
Zhao, Yanyun. 1999. “Leaving the Countryside: Rural–Urban Migration Decisions in China.” American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 89(2): 276–280.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.89.2.281
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Published
2013-11-13
How to Cite
Zhang, S. (2013). The Effect of Inflation on Domestic Migrant Worker Households in China. Journal of Reviews on Global Economics, 2, 416–432. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-7092.2013.02.29
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