This paper employs a simple theoretical model of labor allocation within rural households given existing land arrangements in an attempt to explain why rural Chinese do not fully participate in labor migration. It first explores the mechanisms by which individual household and community characteristics affect the migration decision. Empirical results are then presented to substantiate the derived hypotheses. The paper further explores the question of whether the migration decision is permanent by analyzing the responses of household consumption to income from migration. (EXCERPT)

This paper examines an unintended response to the one-child policy in China: births of twins. Analysis of population census data shows that the one-child policy has accounted for more than one-third of the increase in the reported births of twins since the 1970s. Investigation using birth spacing with prior births and height difference within twins suggests that the increase in the birth of twins is partly due to parents reporting regularly spaced children as twins to avoid the policy violation punishment. The study highlights the possibility of individual behavioral response to undesirable government policies and the potential social consequences.