China's 2008 Labor Contract Law : Implementation and Implications for China's Workers

Gallagher, Mary ; Giles, John ; Park, Albert ; Wang, Meiyan

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGE GROUP;    AGE GROUPS;    AGGREGATE EMPLOYMENT;    AGGREGATE UNEMPLOYMENT;    COLLEGE EDUCATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6542
RP-ID  :  WPS6542

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper presents empirical evidencefrom household and firm survey data collected during2009-2010 on the implementation of the 2008 Labor ContractLaw and its effects on China's workers. The governmentand local labor bureaus have made substantial efforts toenforce the provisions of the new law, which has likelycontributed to reversing a trend toward increasinginformalization of the urban labor market. Enforcement ofthe law, however, varies substantially across cities. Thepaper analyzes the determinants of worker satisfaction withthe enforcement of the law, the propensity of workers tohave a labor contract, workers' awareness of thecontent of the law, and their likelihood of initiatingdisputes. The paper finds that all of these factors arehighly correlated with the level of education, especiallyfor migrants. Although higher labor costs may have had anegative impact on manufacturing employment growth, this hasnot led to an overall increase in aggregate unemployment orprevented the rapid growth of real wages. Less progress hasbeen made in increasing social insurance coverage, althoughsigning a labor contract is more likely to be associatedwith participation in social insurance programs than in thepast, particularly for migrant workers.