Housing tenure choice and socio-economic integration of migrants in rising cities of China

Abstract

Migrants' socio-economic integration is taken as one of important forms for common prosperity. And it is a crucial factor for social harmony and stability. However, the association between housing tenure choice and migrants' socio-economic integration does not receive enough attention. Based on 2017 China Migrants Dynamics Survey (CMDS), it is found migrants' socio-economic integration mainly consists of the following three aspects: Economic integration, socio-cultural integration and psychological integration. Compared with migrant renters, the socio-economic integration of migrants with houses is rather higher, while migrants' level of socio-economic integration, who live in employee's dormitories, is comparatively low, even after controlling the endogenous by using PSM and IV method. Further study indicates that the effect of housing tenure choice on migrants' socio-economic integration partly affects their settlement intention, integration will, local capital and labor supply. Heterogeneity analysis shows that new generation have a negative effect on the role of homeownership on migrants' socio-economic integration, while living in eastern China and the development of digital economy can both strengthen the effect of housing tenure choice on migrants' socio-economic integration.