Wages for migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta: determining factors 1

摘要

This article attempts to examine the effect of the enterprise system and social environment under conditions of market transition on the wages of migrant workers using regression analysis of Pearl River Delta migrant worker survey data. The research found that among human capital variables, educational level and length of employment in their present firms have a significant positive effect on the wages of migrant workers, while age and gender also have a significant effect; among enterprise system variables, the type of work also significantly influences wages, demonstrating clear stratification. Industry, scale and firm type do not significantly influence wages, regardless of labor contract or labor supply status. Social capital variables and social environmental factors do not have a significant effect on peasant-worker wage levels. The article therefore concludes that migrant worker wages are highly marketized and are at one extreme of a segmented dual labor market. They lack intra-firm labor markets and promotion mechanisms, are little influenced by changes in labor market conditions, and show no regional variations. They represent low wages of an extreme rigidity.