The incidence of surplus labor in rural China: A nonparametric estimation

Numerous studies indicate a severe problem of surplus labor in rural China. Their statistical results, however, depend on dubious analytical methods or estimation techniques. This paper adopts a nonparametric approach under an alternative framework to estimate the incidence of labor surplus in villages of two Chinese provinces. While the problem of genuine surplus labor in these villages was not as serious as expected, a high percentage of the work force was found to be technically inefficient. The findings have important policy implications regarding the choice between labor migration and more efficient employment of existing labor. (C) 2000 Academic Press.