1 Labour market outcomes of ethnic minorities in urban China

Abstract: This paper analyses labour force participation behaviour and earnings differentials between various ethnic groups and the Han in urban China. Our results show substantial heterogeneity in labour market participation across ethnic groups, in particular for women. Even after controlling for individual characteristics, household composition and location, Hui and Uygur women have particularly low employment probabilities compared to their Han counterparts, which contrasts with Kazak women who exhibit significantly higher employment probabilities. Raw earnings differences also exhibit some heterogeneity, the strongest gaps with the Han being for Tujia and Uygur people. The decomposition of the ethnic gaps shows that population characteristics explain earnings gaps for a number of ethnic groups. However, holding individual characteristics constant, some unexplained differences persist for the Uygur and the Tujia groups