We conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate how the location of a firm in a rural or urban region affects the perceived job attractiveness for university students and graduates and, therewith, contributes to the rural–urban divide. We characterize the attractiveness of a location based on several dimensions (social life, public infrastructure and connectivity) and vary job design and contractual characteristics of the job. We find that job offers from companies in rural areas are generally considered less attractive, regardless of the attractiveness of the region. The negative perception is particularly pronounced among persons of urban origin and singles. In contrast, for individuals with partners and kids this preference is less pronounced. High-skilled individuals who originate from rural areas have no specific regional preference at all.

中文翻译：

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乡镇企业是否落后了？公司所在地和高技能工人的工作吸引力

我们进行了一项离散选择实验，以调查企业在农村或城市地区的位置如何影响大学生和毕业生的工作吸引力，从而加剧城乡差距。我们根据多个维度（社会生活、公共基础设施和连通性）来描述一个地点的吸引力，并改变工作设计和工作合同特征。我们发现，无论该地区的吸引力如何，农村地区公司提供的工作机会普遍被认为吸引力较低。这种负面看法在城市出生的人和单身人士中尤其明显。相比之下，对于有伴侣和孩子的人来说，这种偏好不太明显。来自农村地区的高技能人才根本没有特定的地区偏好。