676 consequences, such as resource use behavior and resource extraction technologies.1 Many recent studies have used this approach to assess the environmental effects of migration, most often in areas of destination (e.g., Browder 1995; Garland 1995; Pichon 1997; Sierra 1999; Perz 2003; Cassels et al. 2005). In contrast, there have been few studies examining the impacts of migration on the environment in areas of origin. There is a large literature on the social and economic impacts of migration in rural areas of origin. Comparing migrant households and non-migrant households regarding agricultural production, use of agricultural technologies, and income and consumption is a common method of examining the influences of migration on rural people’s life. Given the environmental consequences of these factors, this line of inquiry has direct implications for the subsequent environmental outcomes of migration in rural migrant- sending areas. However, few previous studies have addressed such connections. Agricultural practices, incomes and assets, and consumption patterns are all critical elements of rural people’s livelihood processes. Livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (natural, physical, human, financial, and social), and activities required for a means of living (Carney 1998). The rural livelihoods framework provides a solid base to synthesize the literature on migration and rural livelihoods with the research on the environmental impacts of migration in rural origin areas. In the rural livelihoods framework, migration is considered one of the most important livelihood strategies, while the environment and natural resources are incorporated into the context, capital assets, strategies, and outcomes of live- lihoods. The relationship between rural household-level population dynamics and the environment is a major area of recent population-environment research (de Sheerbinin et al. 2008). The household is also the primary scale of analysis in the rural livelihoods framework. Therefore, the household is an appropriate level of analysis for synthetic research on migration, rural livelihoods, and the environ- ment. Rural household livelihoods can be conceptualized as an integrative mediating factor into the migration and environment model. 1 In areas of origin, migrant households are those with member(s) out- migrating for various reasons, while those without migrant members are non-migrant households. In areas of destination, households which have newly moved into the community are migrant households, while those already locally established are non-migrant households. Rural migrant and non-migrant households in a specific study are exposed to the same social, economic, and biophysical environments. The method of comparing these two groups is largely equivalent to a pseudo- experimental design in which non-migrant households are employed as a control group so that the impacts of migration on migrant households can be assessed relative to those which do not participate in migration. Hum Ecol (2010) 38:675–690 According to the conceptual framework depicted in Fig. 1, the impacts of rural out-migration on the rural environment are mediated by the intervening household livelihood factors including agricultural production, agri- cultural technology use, income and consumption, and resource use and management.2 It is hypothesized that rural migrant and non-migrant households differ significantly with respect to these four livelihood constructs. Such differences are expected to lead to distinct environmental outcomes in terms of changes in land quality, soil erosion, and forest re-growth. Here I empirically evaluate this conceptual framework in the context of rural-to-urban labor migration in Chongqing Municipality, Southwest China, a hilly-mountainous region currently with the highest rural labor out-migration rate in China. The study draws on data collected through rural household surveys and key infor- mant interviews in four rural communities of Chongqing. The results confirm the research hypothesis that rural labor- migrant and non-labor-migrant households are significantly different in livelihood activities. The implications of these findings for the subsequent environmental outcomes of rural labor out-migration and natural resource management in rural origin areas are also discussed. Literature Review One of the key areas of recent literature on the impacts of migration on rural livelihoods has focused on the differences between migrant and non-migrant households in agricultural production in rural origin areas. A popular view on the impacts of migration on agriculture is that rural labor out- migration leads to a decline in agricultural cultivation and production. Rural households with labor migrants were found to have lower agricultural productivity than those without migratory workers (Mazambani 1990; Rozelle et al. 1999; Schmook and Radel 2008). Nevertheless, an opposite view contends that remittances generated from labor migration increase rural household incomes and enable rural house- holds to make agricultural improvements. Abundant empir- ical evidence from different regions has shown that the potential negative influences of lost household labor on agricultural production can be compensated by increased access to capital and enhanced agricultural investment (Taylor et al. 2003; de Haas 2006; McCarthy et al. 2006; Hull 2007). In addition, a “middle-path” finding from south- central Ecuador showed that smallholder agriculture was not threatened by rural labor out-migration, nor were remittances invested in agricultural production and improvement (Jokisch 2002). This argument is supported by a recent 2 For a detailed discussion of the full proposed conceptual model, see Qin (2009).