The Rise Of Off-farm Self-employment In China's Rural Labor

Since the implementation of the household contract responsibility system,China's rural areas have released a large amount of surplus labor.Hundreds of millions of rural laborers have left the rural to enter the city,completing the transformation from agriculture to non-agricultural employment.In the process of increasing the non-agricultural employment rate,an attractive phenomenon is the rapid growth of self-employment(an average annual growth rate of 5%).A large number of studies at home and abroad have confirmed that the rise of self-employment has on the one hand increased the income of workers and brought about an upward flow of personal economic and social status;on the other hand,it has significantly increased employment and promoted the development of the entire economy.Therefore,the exploration of the rise of self-employment in rural labor can not only increase the employment of peasants,broaden the channels for peasants to increase income,but also provide feasible options for solving the "three rural issues" and is conducive to the sustainable development of China's economy.In previous studies,most researches on self-employment were conducted from the perspective of self-employment choices and income effects,and did not further explore the growth mechanism of self-employment.Based on the existing research,by using a recent data set of household surveys,this paper analyze the evolution of self-employment in China rural labor force and its role in economic development and focuses on the study of the growth mechanism of rural labor self-employment.By analyzing the process of entry and exit of the rural labor force in the self-employed sector,we attempted to answer the following questions:whether self-employment growth is achieved mainly through labor entering or exiting the non-agricultural employment sector,or between wage employment and self-employment in the non-agricultural employment sector?What factors have caused laborers to enter or exit self-employment?What are the differences between different employment statuses?How to extend the duration of the rural labor force in the self-employment sector and thus promote the continuous growth of self-employment?The specific research content and conclusions are as follows:Chapter one:Introduction.Mainly determine the research topic of this paper,explain the theoretical and practical significance of the research;and clarifies the main research content based on the clarification of the article's research ideas,and points out the research methods and innovations and deficiencies of this article.Chapter two:Concept definition and related theoretical basis of rural labor self-employment.This part mainly defines the concept of rural labor self-employment,and analyzes the individual's self-employment choice from the perspective of career choice theory and dynamic selection theory.Chapter three:The evolution of rural labor self-employment and analysis of its role in economic development.By investigating the employment situation of rural labor force over a long period of time(1998-2015),the evolutionary trends and characteristics of self-employment of rural labor force in China are analyzed,and then the role of self-employment growth in economic development is explored.The study concludes that the increase in the self-employment of China's rural labor force occurs in both economically developed and less-developed regions,the quality of the workforce engaged in self-employment is high,the employment mobility of self-employed persons is the lowest,and there is a positive correlation between household assets and the self-employment participation rate.These characteristics of self-employment in China's rural labor force show that self-employment is an important component of healthy and dynamic economic development.The growth of self-employment can not only inject new vitality into the economy,but also bring more fierce competition to the market,and it can increase farmers' income.Increase employment of farmers and promote rural economic development.Chapter four:The mechanism of rural labor self-employment growth.First,on the basis of subdividing the labor force according to different initial and final employment statuses(self-employment,wage employment,agricultural employment,or no-work status),an analytical framework for understanding the entry and exit of rural laborers into the self-employment sector is established.Second,the process of entry and exit of self-employment of rural laborers is examined separately,and then the internal mechanism of self-employment growth is explored.The conclusions of the study indicate that the employment adjustment of rural laborers in the self-employed sector is mainly achieved through direct conversion between wage employment and self-employment in the non-agricultural employment sector,instead of being led by rural laborers entering or exiting the non-agricultural employment sector.Chapter five:An empirical analysis of the factors influencing the growth of rural labor self-employment.Based on relevant theoretical and literature review,this paper constructs an empirical model,and uses panel data models to examine the factors that influence the transition between self employment and other employment status through regression analysis and draw the corresponding conclusion.The study concluded that demographic characteristics(especially age and marriage)and human capital variables are the major factors that significantly affect the choice of entry and exit the self-employment.Chapter six:Main conclusions and policy recommendations.The conclusion shows that the rise of self-employment of China's rural labor force can promote economic development and the adjustment of employment in the self-employed sector is mainly achieved through the conversion between wage employment and self-employment.Based on the empirical analysis of the factors affecting self-employment growth,we make the relevant recommendations.