Do Migrants Really Save More? Understanding the Impact of Remittances on Savings in Rural China

Yu Zhu, Zhongmin Wu, Meiyan Wang, Yang Du, Fang Cai

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    22 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article studies the impact of remittances on the savings behaviour of rural households in China, using a primary survey undertaken by the authors in 2006. Allowing for endogeneity and left-censoring of remittances, we find that the marginal propensity to save out of remittances is well below half of that out of other sources of incomes. Moreover, we find no evidence of any direct effect of remittances on either capital input or gross output of farm production. These findings are robust with respect to alternative definition of savings and are in line with recent studies which conclude that remittances are largely used for consumption purposes by rural Chinese households.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)654-672
    Number of pages19
    JournalJournal of Development Studies
    Volume48
    Issue number5
    Early online date18 Apr 2012
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2012

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Development

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