Center for Experimental Economics in Education (CEEE), Shaanxi Normal University, No. 620 West Chang'an Avenue, Chang'an District, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China.
School of Economics, Minzu University of China, 27 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Beijing, China.
Demography. 2020 Apr;57(2):403-422. doi: 10.1007/s13524-019-00849-4.
Nearly one-quarter of all children under age 2 in China are left behind in the countryside as parents migrate to urban areas for work. We use a four-wave longitudinal survey following young children from 6 to 30 months of age to provide first evidence on the effects of parental migration on development, health, and nutritional outcomes in the critical first stages of life. We find that maternal migration has a negative effect on cognitive development: migration before children reach 12 months of age reduces cognitive development by 0.3 standard deviations at age 2. Possible mechanisms include reduced dietary diversity and engagement in stimulating activities, both known to be causally associated with skill development in early life. We find no effects on other dimensions of physical and social-emotional health.
在中国，近四分之一的 2 岁以下儿童因父母外出务工而成为农村留守儿童。我们利用一项对 6 至 30 个月大幼儿进行的四期纵向调查，为首次提供了关于父母外出务工对生命早期关键阶段儿童发展、健康和营养结果影响的证据。我们发现，母亲外出务工对认知发展有负面影响：在子女 12 个月之前外出务工会使他们在 2 岁时的认知发展降低 0.3 个标准差。可能的机制包括饮食多样性减少和参与刺激活动减少，而这两者都与早期生活技能发展有因果关系。我们没有发现这种迁移对其他身体和社会情感健康维度的影响。
