This paper investigates whether the concept of surplus labour adequately characterises the labour conditions facing rural Chinese households, and whether, therefore, it affects household labour allocation decisions.
Using household survey data from one rural county, the variation in and determinants of household labour productivity are explored. The results reveal the importance of village and household characteristics in determining a household’s capacity to transfer labour out of agriculture, suggesting that local development strategies, particularly the promotion of off-farm employment, will be more effective in assisting poor households than relaxing constraints on labour mobility.
