Human Capital, Social Capital, And Labor Market In Transition Era: A Case Study Of Rural Migrants And Laid-off Women Workers In Chengdu

One of the consequences of economic reform in China can be characterized by allocation of labor through market mechanisms. Combining the theory of human capital and social capital, this paper provides an empirical study on the job search process and socioeconomic attainment in Chengdu's case. The study is based on two surveys of rural migrants in 2000 and laid-off woman workers in 1999 respectively. A set of hypotheses is tested with multivariate regression methods.Contrasted with former researches, the study supports the strength of weak tie, which has been proved in the context of market economy. The influence of strong tie, however, no longer shows its importance on the process of job searches.The segmentation of labor market is tested through a new perspective. On the one hand, the educational reward has quit a difference in the two groups. In rural migrants, education has little influence on the job income. In laid-off woman workers, education shows a low, though statistically significant economic reward, and the reward increases when a laid-off woman finds an opportunity of job. On the other hand, there is discontinuing hi work experience. In the group of rural migrants, the experience of farm exerts a negative influence on an actor. Laid-off woman workers have no benefit with the length of work.The author argues that it is urgent to develop an integrate labor market...