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City Size, Family Migration, and Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Rural-Urban Migrants in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xing, Chunbing

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Yuan, Xiaoyan

    (Shanghai University)

  • Zhang, Junfu

    (Clark University)

Abstract
Finding suitable employment in a city is more challenging for married than unmarried migrants. This paper provides empirical evidence that the denser and more diversified labor markets in large cities help alleviate the colocation problem of married couples. Using data from China, we show that the gender wage gap among married migrants is significantly smaller in larger cities, and this is mainly because large cities have higher employer and population densities. Large cities make married women more likely to be employed and to secure suitable jobs after family migration. We find no evidence for alternative explanations for the correlation between city size and married women's relative wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Xing, Chunbing & Yuan, Xiaoyan & Zhang, Junfu, 2022. "City Size, Family Migration, and Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Rural-Urban Migrants in China," IZA Discussion Papers 15549, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15549
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Jie Chen & Wei Wang & Yan Song, 2023. "Economic Potential Gain, Income Uncertainty, and Rural Migrants’ Urban Homeownership: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    city size; family migration; colocation choice; gender gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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