Segmented Local Labor Markets in Postreform China: Gender Earnings Inequality in the Case of Two Towns in Zhejiang Province

Abstract

In this paper we aim to explore the segmentation structure of Chinese labor markets, especially gender-related segmentation, at a local level. Through a case-study approach, the discussion is centered on the multiple dualities of the local labor market determined by gender, place, migration, and the rural–urban divide. Although the empirical findings on gender differentiation in Chinese labor markets validate the conclusions of labor-market segmentation theory in general, they also point to the uniqueness of the segmentation processes of the Chinese labor market during the course of its economic transition since the reform. In this study we find that both place and space play an important role in configuring labor market segments, and the spatial construction of local labor markets is shaped greatly by the rural–urban social structure as defined by the household-registration system.