农村劳动力外出务工对留守儿童早期发展的影响机制研究

Following the reform and the last 3 decades of rapid growth, China’s economic development has entered a “new normal.” This “new normal” has put forth new requirements for the quality of human capital in China. The future of China’s economic growth will be driven by technological progress and innovation. The key to achieving this transformation will depend on the quality of our future labor force, and in particular the quality of human capital in rural areas of China. The aim of this research is to focus on the rural labor force employment and its impacts on early child development of children aged from 0-3 using a theoretical and empirical lens. This research uses micro-level data to carry out empirical research. Based on a large panel dataset spanning three years of 0-3-year-old children (representative of rural migrant workers), this research will analyze the current situation and the influential factors of children’s parents’ employment in poor rural areas. We additionally explore the impact of parents’ decisions to migrate out for work on early child development. On the basis of these topics, this paper will put forward policy suggestions to promote the development of the next generation of human capital in poor rural areas.

经过改革开放后30多年的快速增长，我国经济发展进入了“新常态”，经济发展的“新常态”和城镇化对人力资本素质提出了新的要求。未来我国经济增长从主要依靠要素驱动转向更多依靠技术进步和创新驱动，实现这一转变的关键是提升我国未来劳动力的人力资本素质,而提高未来劳动力人力资本素质的重点在农村，难点在贫困农村。本研究旨在围绕贫困农村劳动力就业行为及其对0-3岁儿童早期发展的影响的科学问题，在理论研究的基础上，从微观层面入手深入开展实证研究。基于有代表性、同时涵盖农村未外出劳动力和外出劳动力家庭的0-3岁儿童、家庭、社区的大样本三期面板数据，深入分析贫困农村地区0-3岁儿童父母外出就业的特征，父母外出工作对留守儿童早期发展的影响及其机理。在此基础上，提出促进贫困农村下一代人力资本发展的政策建议。

本研究旨在围绕贫困农村劳动力就业行为及其对0-3岁儿童早期发展的影响的科学问题，在理论研究的基础上，从微观层面入手深入开展实证研究。基于有代表性、同时涵盖农村未外出劳动力和外出劳动力家庭的0-3岁儿童、家庭、社区的大样本面板数据，深入分析贫困农村地区0-3岁儿童父母外出就业的特征，父母外出工作对留守儿童早期发展的影响及其机理。研究结果表明：1）我国未来农村地区人力资本积累的挑战在于农村地区儿童入学准备不足，深层次的根源在于农村儿童早期发展滞后；2）研究发现我国贫困农村地区婴幼儿贫血问题、婴幼儿认知、语言与运动的发展水平滞后于城市儿童。上述指标与照养人养育行为、照养人的心理健康水平等因素显著相关；3）父母外出务工对无论是0-3岁婴幼儿还是3-6岁儿童的认知能力发展均有显著负面影响；4）检验了影响机制，进一步验证和加深了父母外出务工对儿童发展影响的正负效应作用机制。5）在上述研究基础上，系统综述了中国农村贫困地区0-3岁婴幼儿面临的挑战及可能的解决方案。