Effect of parental migration on the noncognitive abilities of left-behind school-going children in rural China

This paper explores the question of whether parental migration is a significant source of human capital development or whether it is harmful to non-cognitive ability development. In light of this, a research question was raised: what is the effect of different statuses of parental migration on the non-cognitive abilities of left-behind children in rural China? To answer this research question, the study uses the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) data wave-1 and employs the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method. The findings revealed that the decision of one or both parents to migrate hurts the non-cognitive abilities of the left-behind school-going children. The results imply that parental migration of one or both parents in rural China is detrimental to the non-cognitive abilities of the left-behind children (LBCs). Therefore, parents should stay or move with their children instead of leaving them with relatives or grandparents. Furthermore, the government must concentrate on removing obstacles to education, especially for migrants, by undertaking initiatives like expanding the number of schools for LBCs and waiving tuition fees. Moreover, the government needs to take action to improve the lives of LBCs and find solutions to their problems. Lastly, the authorities need to promote economic change to create a more balanced economy.

Babar Nawaz Abbasi, Zhimin Luo, Ali Sohail