1. Introduction
Since 1978, the household contract responsibility system has been implemented in China’s rural areas, providing farmers with the rights to manage and utilize land. This approach has successfully heightened enthusiasm for agricultural production, promoting long-term investments in land management and enhancement. However, due to China’s small-scale peasant economy, this system has led to a significant surplus of labor in rural areas. In order to make effective use of agricultural leisure time and increase household income, some farmers have migrated to urban areas in search of off-farm employment opportunities. Since then, rural families in China have experienced structural changes spanning over 30 years.
The proportion of off-farm work participants within the overall farm labor force has seen a substantial increase, rising from 9.3% in 1978 to 74.9% in 2015 [
1]. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the total number of migrant workers reached 277.47 million in 2015 [
2]. Among them, 60.8% were non-local migrant workers, 45.9% engaged in cross-province migration, and over half of these migrant workers were married. Nearly 90% of married migrants from the “new generation” actively chose to migrate as couples in 2015 [
3]. The trend of joint migration among couples is experiencing a steady rise, emerging as the dominant pattern in migration [
4].
The large-scale rural–urban migration (RUM) in China has raised concerns among scholars regarding the nation’s food security [
5]. However, despite the decline in the agricultural labor force in China, the area and yield of cereal crops continuously increased for the 12 consecutive years from 2003 to 2015. Notably, the area of rice cultivation grew by 16.13%, and the yield of rice production increased by 32.05% during this period. These trends indicate that, contrary to expectations, RUM has not negatively impacted China’s food security. Instead, it has played a role in enhancing agricultural productivity and efficiency.
Studies on the relationship between RUM and agricultural productivity and efficiency offer mixed and inconclusive findings. On the one hand, due to the negative lost-labor effect, RUM results in a decline in the quality [
6] and motivation [
7] of farm labor, as well as a reduction in agricultural productivity and efficiency [
8]. In certain instances, the burden of RUM may even push farmers to consider abandoning their agricultural activities [
9]. On the other hand, due to the positive effect of income transfers from migrants, RUM leads to an increase in total household income [
10] and loosens household budget constraints on agricultural production [
11]. Farmers possess the capability to alleviate the effects of labor loss by increasing farm inputs, resulting in an improvement in agricultural productivity and efficiency [
12]. Additionally, several studies argue that RUM does not have a significant impact on agricultural productivity and efficiency [
5,
13].
The field of development economics has introduced various theories regarding the impact of RUM on farm production. According to Lewis’ dual economy model, farm production remains largely unaffected by RUM due to the presence of surplus farm labor with zero marginal productivity in agriculture, a characteristic of developing countries [
14,
15]. Similarly, the agricultural household model (AHM) suggests that production decisions of farmers are independent of consumption and off-farm employment [
16]. The new economics of labor migration (NELM) postulates that, while productive labor lost to non-farm sectors reduces farm production in the short run, migrant remittances home can compensate for the loss by financing new farm technology [
17]. However, existing theories typically treat the intra-family labor force as a homogeneous group, ignoring the diversity among individuals and the complex interactions within families [
18].
NELM emphasizes that migration decisions are strategic choices made at the household level, rather than independent individual decisions [
17]. Unfortunately, most research methods for analyzing RUM decisions continue to focus on individual decision models [
4]. The structure of families, along with its variations across different regions and time periods, remains under-researched. This study aims to address this gap by specifically examining the heterogeneous effects of changes in rural family structure on agricultural productivity and efficiency, with a particular emphasis on the interdependent relationship between husband and wife. By investigating the different types of dynamics that emerge when husband and wife engage in migration activities, our research provides insights into the distinct roles, contributions, and interactions of husband and wife. This approach recognizes the importance of considering family structure changes and the division of labor within rural families, which can significantly impact agricultural outcomes.
In recent years, the differences in intra-family labor dynamics have received increasing attention. Some studies focus on the migration decisions of household heads, who dominate household decision-making [
19,
20]. The off-farm work of household heads has been found to have a positive and statistically significant effect on farm inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides [
20]. There is also research that considers gender differences within the labor force. For example, husbands and wives hold different attitudes in decisions about labor distribution, childbirth, and internal care within families [
21]. Few studies recognize the empirical importance of examining couples’ joint migration [
4]. Households in which only the husband migrates are more likely to rent in land, whereas those in which only the wife migrates are less likely to do so; couples who jointly migrate are more likely to rent out land [
22]. Unlike previous studies, this study explores the heterogeneous effects of changes in rural family structure on the productivity and efficiency of rice farmers. Couples’ joint migration (both the husband and wife are migrant workers) and split migration (one of the spouses migrates and the other stays at home) are used to characterize changes in family structure. Taking non-migrating families as a reference group, we find that there are large differences in farm efficiency among different family structures. Notably, the concept of an extended family is prevalent in developing countries, especially in China. For thousands of years, couples, the elderly, and children have resided together in China, shaping daily life and sharing living spaces. When couples migrate to urban centers for off-farm work, elderly family members often stay behind in the rural hometowns to manage the farms. Extensive studies have explored these issues [
23,
24,
25].
The choice of location for migrant workers is a crucial aspect of migration decision-making, which is often disregarded in the existing literature. While extended migration distances may lead to a higher income, they also come with increased costs related to time, transportation, and information [
26]. In general, local migrant workers can strike a balance between off-farm work and farm production. Long-distance migrants need a wage premium to overcome the costs associated with moving between culturally diverse regions [
27]. In this study, we examine the regional choices made by migrant workers, specifically focusing on whether they choose to migrate inside or outside of the province. The findings reveal that rural families with different migration distances tend to adopt distinct production strategies.
Our study contributes to several branches of the literature. First, it complements the literature on RUM. Over the years, migration research has primarily focused on individuals’ movement to and settlement processes in urban areas. Our attention turns to the individual differences and the division of labor force within families. By exploring the heterogeneous effects of changes in family structure on the production decisions of farmers, our study highlights the significance of couples’ joint migration for government policies. Second, our study supports the research on migration region heterogeneity and distance heterogeneity. Our empirical evidence shows that there are differences in the economic consequences between migration inside the province and migration outside the province. Third, previous studies usually used “unit land output” or “unit land output value” (i.e., land productivity) to discuss the relationship between RUM and farms’ efficiency [
5]. The richness of the dataset allows us to pinpoint both single-factor productivity indicators (i.e., land productivity, labor productivity, and capital productivity) and technical efficiency. We argue that different efficiency indicators carry unique policy implications.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows.
Section 2 describes the research methodology. The data and variables are presented in
Section 3.
Section 4 presents the empirical results.
Section 5 contains the discussions;
Section 6 comprises the conclusions and suggestions.
5. Discussion
Based on a survey of rice farmers in five provinces of China, this study explores the impact of changes in rural family structure on agricultural productivity and efficiency. We first investigate the heterogeneous effects of changes in rural family structure on single-factor productivity, including land, labor, and capital productivity. Then, a one-step SFA is employed to assess the production frontier and estimate inefficiency. Finally, we use multiple approaches to examine the results and come to similar conclusions. Our research has a specific focus on investigating the interdependent relationship between spouses within farm couples, particularly when both partners are involved in off-farm employment.
Since less attention has been paid to the effects of changes in family structure on the production decisions of rural families, the purpose of this study is to enrich the existing literature by expanding the perspective to a deeper frame of reference. Our empirical results suggest that the structural–spatial relationship of any migration that takes place cannot be ignored. This is consistent with Meng et al. (2016) [
5], Zhou et al. (2020) [
22], and Kocatepe et al. (2023) [
55]. Our findings also emphasize the importance of considering regional differences in migration, which supports to some extent the views regarding migration region heterogeneity and distance heterogeneity mentioned in the studies of Lim (2019) [
26], Xu and Li (2023) [
56], and Piyapromdee (2021) [
57].
Research on the relationship between rural–urban migration and agricultural performance presents mixed and inconclusive outcomes. Previous studies have noted that rural families experiencing migration will balance both the negative effects of labor loss and the positive effects of remittances when making production strategy decisions [
57]. This study provides evidence of the heterogeneous effects of changes in rural family structure on agricultural productivity and efficiency. On the one hand, compared to non-migrating families, we observe that families with couples’ joint migration outside the province display higher single-factor productivity and technical efficiency. This supports the idea that the positive effects of remittances outweigh the negative effects of labor loss, which aligns with the findings of Chiodi et al. (2012) [
11] and Amare and Shiferaw (2017) [
58]. On the other hand, we are cautious in concluding that land productivity is lower for families with couples’ joint migration inside the province. This suggests that the negative effects of labor loss outweigh the positive effects of remittances in this case, consistent with the work of Holden et al. (2004) [
7] and Shi et al. (2011) [
59]. In addition, there is no significant effect on the single-factor productivity for the families with one spouse’s migration inside the province and others’ migration beyond spouses. Similarly, there is no significant effect on the technical efficiency of families with migration inside the province. These findings are consistent with McCarthy et al. (2009) [
13] and Feng et al. (2010) [
5]. A possible explanation for this is that these families may compensate for the loss of household labor by reducing the leisure time or other low-return activities of surplus farm labor, as suggested by Wang et al. (2014) [
60].
6. Conclusions and Suggestions
Our study is essential for understanding the relationship between migration and sustainable rural and urban development. Over the past three decades, China has experienced significant transformations in its societal structure, driven by industrialization, urbanization, and the migration of young people to engage in off-farm work in urban areas. By examining how changes in rural family structure affect agricultural productivity and efficiency, our study not only contributes to achieving more balanced and sustainable development across regions, but also plays a critical role in ensuring food security in China.
Over the years, migration research has primarily focused on individuals’ movement to and settlement processes in urban areas. In this study, our attention turns to the individual differences and the division of the labor force within families. Our findings indicate that families experiencing diverse structural changes might choose distinct production strategies. Our key findings are summarized as follows: (1) Only certain types of changes in the rural family structure exert a significant impact on agricultural productivity and efficiency. (2) Rural families experiencing migration in different regions often adopt distinct production strategies. (3) Couples’ joint migration seems to be particularly important in agricultural productivity and efficiency. Compared to non-migrating families, families with couples’ joint migration outside the province exhibit higher single-factor productivity and technical efficiency, while families with couples’ joint migration inside the province show lower land productivity.
The findings in this study have several important policy implications for sustainable rural and urban development. First, the significant migration of young rural labor to cities further aggravates the aging of the agricultural labor force in rural areas [
23,
24,
25]. This demographic shift presents challenges to agricultural productivity and sustainability, necessitating targeted policies to support the remaining labor force. We recommend that the government allocate resources towards the improvement and development of the rural infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on agricultural irrigation facilities and the availability of advanced agricultural machinery services. In the long run, these investments will not only promote food security by supporting sustained agricultural output, but also enhance the well-being of the remaining agricultural labor force. Second, while extended migration distances may lead to higher income for migrant workers, they also come with increased costs related to time, transportation, and information [
26]. We suggest that the government take measures to facilitate convenient transportation for migrant workers commuting between their hometowns and their off-farm work locations, particularly for those migrating to outside the province. Moreover, implementing different levels of transport subsidies or transitional living subsidies for migrant workers who migrate across regions and provinces is a valuable consideration [
56].
Although this study focuses specifically on the case of China, its conclusions and recommendations are applicable to other developing countries that are experiencing rapid urbanization or large rural–urban migration. Migrant workers play a vital role in the process of urbanization and in achieving balanced and sustainable development between regions. On the one hand, rural–urban migration provides cities with a large supply of affordable labor, which supports urban economic growth and development. On the other hand, the income and remittances of migrant workers are effective ways for many rural families to escape poverty [
61]. Understanding the impact of rural couples leaving their hometown simultaneously or migrating alone is crucial for formulating and evaluating specific policies. For central government, we recommend strengthening social security measures and creating employment opportunities for migrant workers, with specific attention to supporting migrant couples. Local governments should implement measures to enhance the welfare and well-being of those left behind. Since those remaining in rural areas may face increased agricultural production burdens, establishing a socialized service system for public welfare and providing agricultural subsidies are crucial. Additionally, local governments should devise new development strategies to adapt to changes in rural demographics resulting from family migration. As family members migrate to urban areas, issues such as economic opportunities for spouses left behind (most likely the wife), as well as the health and education of the elderly and children, warrant attention not only by scholars but also by policy-makers.
This study still has several deficiencies. First, due to limited data availability and resource allocation, pooled cross-sectional data are used instead of panel data. While multiple approaches were employed to examine the results and come to similar conclusions, there were remaining endogeneity issues that need be addressed in future research. Panel data and various measurement methods can be used to test the findings of this study. Second, the research area was primarily the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where the local off-farm work market is relatively well-established. However, it is important to note that most rural areas in China lack sufficient off-farm work opportunities. Therefore, future research should concentrate on impoverished and remote regions for a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.