Lu, YiXie, HuihuaXu, Lixin Colin2015-02-232015-02-232013-10https://hdl.handle.net/10986/21473This paper uses a unique natural experiment in Chinese villages to investigate whether access to telecommunications-- in particular, landline phones -- increases the likelihood of outmigration. By using regional and time variations in the installation of landline phones, the difference-in-differences estimation shows that access to landline phones increases the ratio of out-migrant workers by 2 percentage points, or about 50 percent of the sample mean in China. The results remain robust to a battery of validity checks. Furthermore, landline phones affect outmigration through two channels: information access to job opportunities and timely contact with left-behind family members. The findings underscore the positive migration externality of expanding telecommunications access in rural areas, especially in places where migration potential is large.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO EDUCATIONACCESS TO INFORMATIONACCESS TO JOBACCESSIBILITYAGRICULTURE PRODUCTIONAUTONOMYBANKSBULLETINBUSINESS OWNERSHIPCABLE TELEVISIONCAPITAL FLOWCELLULAR PHONECELLULAR PHONESCITIZENSHIPCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT POLICYDISPOSABLE INCOMEEARNINGSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC POLICYECONOMIC REFORMEDUCATION LEVELSELECTRICITYEMPLOYEEFAMILIESFAMILY MEMBERSFAMILY STRUCTUREFARMERFARMERSFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSFINANCIAL COSTSFOOD SHORTAGEGLOBAL DEVELOPMENTGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT POLICYGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH IN POPULATIONHEALTH CAREHOUSEHOLD INVESTMENTHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN RESOURCESIMMIGRANTIMMIGRANT WORKERSIMMIGRANTSIMMIGRATIONINEQUALITYINFORMATION ACCESSINFORMATION NETWORKINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINSTALLATIONINSTITUTIONAL SUPPORTSINTERNAL MIGRATIONINTERNAL MIGRATIONSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL MIGRATIONINTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATIONJOB CREATIONJOB OPPORTUNITIESLABOR FORCELABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLABOR MOBILITYLABOUR MARKETLARGE CITIESLIFE PROSPECTSMANUFACTURINGMARKET INFORMATIONMARKETINGMEDIAMEDICINEMIGRANTMIGRANT WORKERMIGRANT WORKERSMIGRATIONMOBILE PHONEMOBILE PHONESMULTINATIONALNATIONAL PRIORITYNETWORKSNEW TECHNOLOGIESOPEN ACCESSPEOPLESPHONE CONNECTIONPHONESPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOPULATION STUDIESPOTENTIAL MIGRANTSPOWERPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPRIVATIZATIONPRODUCTIVITYPROGRESSPROVISION OF INFORMATIONQUALITY OF LIFEREGISTRATION SYSTEMREMITTANCEREMITTANCESRESULTRESULTSRETURN MIGRATIONRURAL AREASRURAL POVERTYSEARCHSEARCH ENGINESEARCHESSERVICE QUALITYSEXSEX RATIOSITESSOCIAL PROGRAMSSOCIAL SCIENCESSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONSOCIAL WELFARESOCIETYSPILLOVERTELECOMTELECOM COMPANIESTELECOM SERVICESTELECOMMUNICATIONSTELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESSTELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORMTELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTORTELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICESTELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIESTELEPHONESTELEVISIONSTOWNSTVUNEMPLOYMENTURBAN AREASURBAN COMMUNITIESURBAN MIGRATIONURBAN POPULATIONURBANIZATIONUSERSUSESVILLAGEVILLAGESVIRTUAL COMMUNITYWEBYOUNG CHILDREN10.1596/1813-9450-6644