Effect of Parental Migration on the Academic Performance of Left Behind Children in North Western China
Effect of Parental Migration on the Academic Performance of Left Behind Children in North Western China
复制标题
父母外出务工对西北地区留守儿童学业成绩的影响
DOI：
10.1080/00220388.2017.1333108
复制
发表时间：
2018-01-01
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Rozelle, Scott
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bai, Yu;Zhang, Linxiu;Rozelle, Scott
中国的快速城市化已促使大量农村居民从农村迁移到城市地区，以寻求更高的工资。因此，据估计，中国农村有6000多万儿童留守在亲戚家里，通常是他们的祖父母。这些儿童被称为留守儿童（lbc）。有人担心，父母迁移可能会由于缺乏父母的照顾而对lbc的学业表现产生潜在的负面影响。然而，也可能是当孩子的父母在外地工作时，他们的汇款可以增加家庭收入，提供更多的资源，这可以导致更好的学习成绩。因此，向外迁移对lbc学习成绩的净影响尚不清楚。本文考察了父母外出打工前后学生学业成绩的变化。我们使用了一个由作者收集的面板数据集，该数据集来自中国农村少数民族地区130所农村小学的13000多名学生。使用差异中的差异和倾向得分匹配方法，我们的研究结果表明，父母迁移对lbc的学习成绩有显著的积极影响（我们使用标准化英语考试成绩来衡量）。利用我们的数据进行的异质性分析表明，表现较差的学生对lbc的积极影响更大。
China's rapid urbanisation has induced large numbers of rural residents to migrate from their homes in the countryside to urban areas in search of higher wages. As a consequence, it is estimated that more than 60 million children in rural China are left behind and live with relatives, typically their paternal grandparents. These children are called Left Behind Children (LBCs). There are concerns about the potential negative effects of parental migration on the academic performance of the LBCs that could be due to the absence of parental care. However, it might also be that when a child's parents work away from home, their remittances can increase the household's income and provide more resources and that this can lead to better academic performance. Hence, the net impact of out-migration on the academic performance of LBCs is unclear. This paper examines changes in academic performance before and after the parents of students out-migrate. We draw on a panel dataset collected by the authors of more than 13,000 students at 130 rural primary schools in ethnic minority areas of rural China. Using difference-in-differences and propensity score matching approaches, our results indicate that parental migration has significant, positive impacts on the academic performance of LBCs (which we measure using standardised English test scores). Heterogeneous analysis using our data demonstrates that the positive impact on LBCs is greater for poorer performing students.