Social Trust Between Rural Migrants and Urban Locals in China – Exploring the Effects of Residential Diversity and Neighbourhood Deprivation

Zheng Wang,Fangzhu Zhang,Fulong Wu

doi:10.1002/psp.2008

Abstract

AbstractThe social integration of migrants has become a major challenge for Chinese cities as many rural migrants still face discrimination from urban natives. Research suggests that intergroup social trust can improve cohesion and reduce stigmatisation. However, little is known about the trust level between migrants and locals and its underlying dynamics in urban China. Our study explores the trust between native Shanghai residents and rural migrants and how neighbourhood factors including residential diversity and neighbourhood poverty may play a role. We adopt a multilevel model to analyse the 1,420 questionnaire samples collected in 2013 from local and migrant residents in Shanghai. Our results show that people living in areas with more migrant residents also have higher intergroup social trust, which may indicate that exposure to more out‐group neighbours can remove preconceived stigmas and foster tolerance. In contrast, there is less intergroup trust in poor neighbourhoods although migrant residents are exceptions. We speculate that migrants are less affected by local poverty because they are less spatially bound to the locality and are thus less likely to compete with native residents over local resources. Our results differ from findings in multi‐ethnic societies where residential diversity causes distrust, but we believe this is a reasonable outcome considering that locals and migrants in urban China share more in common such as ethnicity, language, and national identity. © 2015 The Authors.Population, Space and Placepublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Highlights

A fter decades of emphasis on economic growth, China turns its focus towards another pressing issue of a more social nature
There is evidence showing that migrant–local relations help alleviate these problems (Nielsen et al, 2006; Liu et al, 2013; Yue et al, 2013), little is known about its underlying dynamics in urban China
Using the case of Shanghai, our study is the first to directly address the issue of social trust between migrants and locals and how it is related to neighbourhood factors including residential diversity and neighbourhood poverty

Summary

Introduction

A fter decades of emphasis on economic growth, China turns its focus towards another pressing issue of a more social nature. China’s economic transition has left millions of migrants in Chinese cities struggling to socially settle into the host society. The consequences are severe including widespread discrimination towards rural migrants (Solinger, 1999; Roberts, 2002; Wang et al, 2015) and difficulties to socially integrate migrants who wish to remain in the host society (Li and Wu, 2013). Integrating migrants and reducing social tensions stand at the top of the Chinese government’s policy agenda (Wang et al, 2008)

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Results

Conclusion