Exploring the power of networks and knowledge: how social capital and education drive the success of Chinese migrant workers in the labor market

ABSTRACT

This study explores the relationships between social capital, education, income, and job stability in Chinese migrant workers, an under-researched area. Our findings reveal strong positive links between social capital, formal education duration, income, and job stability for migrant workers. Importantly, we distinguish between male and female migrants, unveiling gender-specific differences in the impact of social capital and education on income and job stability. Male migrant workers benefit from both social capital and formal education, while female migrant workers primarily gain from formal education. Regarding job stability, only the formal education duration of female migrant workers demonstrates a noteworthy correlation. Additionally, our analysis examines generational disparities, showing that formal education positively affects all migrant workers, with more pronounced advantages among younger individuals. Furthermore, our study emphasizes the role of social capital in increasing income for migrant workers in the manufacturing and construction sectors, while also enhancing job stability among those in the construction and service sectors. Formal education emerges as a positive factor for both income and job stability across manufacturing, construction, and service domains among migrant workers.

KEYWORDS:

• Social capital
• employment
• income
• job stability
• Chinese migrant workers
• education
• employment sector

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Due to limitations in data, ‘service’ in this context encompasses wholesale/retail trade and residential services/repair. ‘service’ elsewhere in this paper also includes transportation/warehousing/postal services and accommodation/catering.

Additional information

Funding

Supported by No. 72203240 from the Nation Natural Science Foundation of China, No.CSQ21003 from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and No.19YJCZH221 from the Youth Project of Humanities and Social Sciences Research of the Ministry of Education.

Notes on contributors

Zhengyi Yang

Zhengyi Yang is an associate professor in economic management. Her research interests are focused upon the labor economic history of migrant workers in China.

Yu Wang

Yu Wang is an assistant professor of operations management. His research interests center on the tradeoffs between capacity, service quality, and service accessibility in the healthcare industry.