Essays in migration and development economics

This is an empirical study of Chinese agriculture. It also includes a theoretical model on the migration of skilled workers.; The first paper analyzes returns to scale using Chinese farm level data from Dahe township in Hebei province. This analysis assesses the efficiency gains of the 1978 reforms, which allowed land to be farmed by individual households rather than collectively. It is based on a previous analysis that suggested decreasing returns to scale. This result is examined under alternative specifications and assumptions. The paper affirms decreasing returns to scale in crop production, but shows that measurement error may have contributed to that result.; The second paper examines production function analyses for different periods in Chinese agriculture and for different levels of aggregation. A distinct pattern for the output elasticities emerges, with land the largest coefficient, usually followed by the labor or current inputs coefficient. The capital coefficient is usually the smallest. The analysis also shows that the production function estimates are stable over time, although there is some evidence they may have changed in the 1980s. Estimates from Dahe township suggest that the land coefficient may have dropped and the coefficients on capital and current inputs may have gone up. This paper also finds that the very high coefficient for land may be due to bias from the use of a production function or from the use of an incorrect functional form. The production function parameters are very important for agricultural policy. Several major studies of Chinese agriculture rely on estimates of factor shares that differ from the elasticities in this paper. If these elasticities are used, the results of those studies are substantially altered.; The third paper analyzes the pattern and welfare effects of the migration of skilled workers between two countries using an overlapping generations model. The nature of the model is such that the competitive solution does not, in general, yield the 'golden rule' level of the capital-labor ratio. This characteristic determines the pattern of labor migration: individuals migrate to the country whose capital-labor ratio is closer to the 'golden rule' level. Migration moves the capital-labor ratio in the country of origin closer to the 'golden rule' and that of the country of destination away from the 'golden rule.' Consequently, the welfare of the nonmigrants in the country of origin improves while that of individuals in the receiving country worsens.