This book offers a groundbreaking empirical analysis of critical issues shaping rural development in China, focusing on factor reallocation and inequality. Using rigorous econometric methods and unique datasets, it challenges conventional wisdom on rural-urban migration, revealing its complex impact on agricultural productivity and migrant health. The study also examines how pension reforms influence land reallocation and labor mobility, while uncovering the alarming role of inequality of opportunity in rural earnings disparities.

Xinjie Shi is a Tenured Associate Professor and Research Fellow at the School of Public Affairs and the China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Australian National University. His research interests include agricultural economics and development economics, with a focus on a wide range of social and economic development issues in rural China, such as rural human capital, inequality (of opportunity), rural-urban migration, land conversion, and agricultural production. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Health Economics, Health Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, World Development, and Food Policy.