Spillover Effects of Left-behind Children in Rural China:A Perspective from Non-cognitive Skills
With the increasing number of rural migrants in cities,there is a growing concern for left-behind children.In this context,this paper builds a theoretical framework to analyze the spillover effects generated by left-behind children.Using China Education Panel Survey data,our finding reveals that the increase in the proportion of left-behind children significantly reduces the non-cognitive skills of their peers in the same class.This negative effect is more pronounced for left-behind boys.Left-behind children also have a stronger spillover effect on those from families with higher socioeconomic status.The analysis of the mechanism indicates that more left-behind children lead to a reduced input of teachers and a deterioration of the atmosphere in the classrooms.These results suggest that previous studies that do not consider spillover effects may underestimate the negative impact when children are left behind.The findings of this study offer important policy implications for the care of left-behind children in rural areas,the reduction of human capital inequality between urban and rural children,and rural revitalization.