Impact of Non-Agricultural Employment on the Income of Rural Reservoir Resettlers in the Context of County Urbanization—Based on the Survey Data of Qiaojia County, Baihetan Reservoir Area, China

After reservoir resettlers moved into county towns, they were no longer allocated land, making it difficult to continue their agricultural production, so they had to seek employment in non-agricultural industries. Without employment, there will be no stable income, and the basic livelihood of reservoir resettlers cannot be guaranteed. In this study, we explore the impact of non-agricultural employment on the income of reservoir resettlers in the context of county urbanization, and propose targeted policy recommendations to provide references for the later-stage support of reservoir resettlers. First, we collect questionnaire data from 618 samples in Qiaojia County, Baihetan Reservoir Area. Based on that, the average treatment effects of non-agricultural employment and its different types on the income of reservoir resettlers are examined using propensity score matching. In addition, we analyze the impact of non-agricultural employment on the income of reservoir resettlers in different groups. The study shows that (1) the average treatment effect of non-agricultural employment is 29580 yuan, indicating a significant income-increasing effect of non-agricultural employment. (2) In terms of different non-agricultural employment types, the average treatment effect of local employment is 14680 yuan, the average treatment effect of migration employment is 32360 yuan, and the average treatment effect of non-agricultural business is 41090 yuan. Compared with local employment, migration employment has a greater income-increasing effect; compared with local employment or migration employment, non-agricultural business has a greater income-increasing effect. (3) Regarding gender differences, non-agricultural employment will increase the income of male reservoir resettlers by 33420 yuan, with a higher increase than that of female reservoir resettlers. (4) In terms of generation differences, non-agricultural employment will increase the income of the new generation of reservoir resettlers by 31640 yuan, with a higher increase than the old generation of reservoir resettlers. Therefore, it's necessary to increase the proportion of non-agricultural employment, vigorously develop the county economy, provide excellent labor export services, improve the county business environment, promote policy improvement and efficiency enhancement, and help reservoir resettlers better achieve non-agricultural employment and increase income.