2011 Awards for excellence

Citation

Li, X. (2012), "2011 Awards for excellence", China Agricultural Economic Review, Vol. 4 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/caer.2012.40604aaa.001

2011 Awards for excellence

Article Type: 2011 Awards for excellence From: China Agricultural Economic Review, Volume 4, Issue 1

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for China Agricultural Economic Review

“The challenges facing young workers during rural labor transition”

Xiaofei Li, Chengfang Liu, Renfu Luo and , Linxiu ZhangCenter for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaScott RozelleFreeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

Purpose – The paper aims to discuss whether the younger generation of China's rural labor force is prepared, in terms of education level or labor quality, for the future labor markets under China's industrial upgrading.Design/methodology/approach – Using nationally representative survey data, the paper gives detailed discussions on the young rural laborers' education attainments, and their off-farm employment status including job patterns, working hours, and hourly wage rates. The relationship between education and employment status is analyzed and tested. Through these discussions, an employment challenge is revealed, and some policy implications are made.Findings – This paper finds that China's young rural laborers are generally poorly educated and mainly unskilled. They work long hours and are low paid. While they lack the labor quality that will be required to meet the industrial upgrading, an employment challenge may face them in the near future. This paper also finds a strong link between education levels and employment status for the young labor force, which implies the possible effect of policies such as improving rural education.Originality/value – Based on a solid foundation of a national rural household survey, this paper updates the understanding of the education and employment situations of the young rural labor force in contemporary China. The concern about the employment challenges raised in the paper is related to the future of China's rural labor transition and the whole economy.

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/17561371011044298

This article originally appeared in Volume 2 Number 2, 2010, pp. 185-199, of China Agricultural Economic Review, Editor: Professor Xian Xin

Editor: Professor Xian Xin

The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award

Achieving food security in China: past three decades and beyond

Zhangyue Zhou

Vol. 2 No. 3, 2010, China Agricultural Economic Review

Borrowing amongst friends: the economics of informal credit in rural China

Calum G. Turvey, Rong Kong and Xuexi Huo

This article originally appeared in Volume 2 No. 2, 2010, China Agricultural Economic Review

Outstanding Reviewer

Ruihua Yang, China Agricultural University, People’s Republic of China