Abstract
Massive population flows from rural to urban areas since the start of economic reform have had consequences on almost every social, economic and political issue in the People's Republic of China. This paper maps the developments of rural to urban migration in reform era China, explaining the repercussions of the household registration system on migration patterns, the economic and social inclusion of rural migrant workers into urban communities, and the formation of migrant communities based on ethnic ties in some of China's major cities. The paper ends with a discussion of the consequences of both regional and rural-urban inequalities on future population flows, and on the possibilities of social tensions brought by the increasing presence of rural migrants in urban China.
Highlights
Since 1978, China’s transitional economy has been characterized by its dynamism
Massive population flows from rural to urban areas constitute ‘the phenomenon of the century’ (Zhang 1998) for China, they constitute the largest flow of labour out of agriculture in world history (Taylor 2001, p. 5)
Economic reform and international trade by themselves cannot explain the social dislocation created by the massive population movement experienced since the middle of the 1980s
Summary
Since 1978, China’s transitional economy has been characterized by its dynamism. Profound changes in its structure and the introduction of a market economy have intensified China’s links to the outside world. These rural to urban migration flows have had consequences on almost every social, economic, and political issue in the People’s Republic of China [PRC].
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