Migrant remittances and family ties: a case study in China

Abstract

AbstractThe migration of China's population, especially rural‐to‐urban migration, has attracted considerable attention from both researchers and policy‐makers. However, few studies have considered the issue of remittances sent home by migrants. This subject is of importance for three reasons: first, remittances have become a striking feature of Chinese internal migration; second, remittances are a unique form of transfers which tell something about intra‐familial relationships; and, third, the study of remittances is relatively absent in the the China migration literature to date. Guided by the theories of family adaptive strategy, altruism, and self‐interest, this study explores how temporary vs. permanent migration status influences migrants' propensity to remitting and the amount remitted. It also considers how family ties, both emotional and economical, affect migrants' remitting behaviour. The data are drawn from the Hubei Survey of Fertility, Migration and Social Change and we show that family ties are the most important and distinct factors in affecting migrants' remittances. Temporary migration status, being male and wage also have positive and statistically significant effects. Education, surprisingly, has little influence on either the decision to remit or the amount to remit. In conclusion, we consider the policy implications of these findings. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.