Solution to the Dilemma of the Migrant Labor Shortage and the Rural Labor Surplus in China

Since 2003,China’s labor market has been facing two coexisting crises:a rural laborsurplus and a severe shortage of migrant labor.Using data from the 2000 China Healthand Nutrition Survey questionnaire,which covers 288 villages in 36 counties,this paperattempts to find a solution to this dilemma.Specifically,a multinomial logit model a Mincertypemodel and a probit model are applied to examine the effect of educational level on theemployment choices for rural laborers,and on the wages and the employment status ofmigrants.Based on the results of our analysis,we propose the implementation of policyaimed at increasing the educational level of rural dwellers,in conjunction with other policiesto eliminate all artificial barriers,to facilitate the migration of rural laborers.