LUO Ren fu1, ZHANG Lin R57xiu1, WANG Xiao bing1, QIAO Fang bin2, SYLVIA Sean3
1.Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, IGSNRR, CAS, Beijing 100101, China;
2.China Economics and Management Academy, CUFE, Beijing, 100081, China；
3.The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, MD 20742, USA
Abstract This paper estimates the effect of highway accessibility on participation in off-farm work by using a unique panel data covering 100 villages, 682 households and more than 1600 workers in rural China with fixed effect model. It is found that-between 2004 and 2007 -a one kilometer decrease in the distance to the nearest highway increases off-farm labor participation in sample villages by approximately 0.1-0.15%; female and older laborers remain less likely to find off-farm work and that education and training remains a significant factor affecting entry into the off-farm labor market. It is suggested that increased highway accessibility has an important role in helping rural labor gain access to off-farm employment activities in rural China.
2013, Vol. 1 
