Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/299879 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16951
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Fifty years ago, China sent more than 16 million urban youths aged 16–19 to rural villages to work and they spent between 1 and 10 years there. This is known as the 'sent-down youth' (SDY) program. This paper examines how this internal migration impacted rural economic development in the regions that received a larger number of SDY per capita relative to regions that received less. We find a sizeable and persistent impact of the SDY program on real per capita GDP and nighttime light in the years after the program ended. Surprisingly, although our results confirm that the SDY increased education level of relevant cohorts, the variation in the education level of these cohorts does not seem to contribute directly to rural GDP and nighttime lights. We provide suggestive evidence regarding mechanisms through which the SDY influenced rural economic development.
Subjects: 
economic development
migration
sent-down youth
China
JEL: 
O18
J61
R23
N00
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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