The Hybrid Hukou: A New Proposal to Enhance Labor Mobility in China

Abstract

Since 1958, the Chinese household registration system, known in English as the hukou system (户口), has limited the ability of Chinese citizens to move from one area of the country to another. Under the hukou system, Chinese citizens who move from rural areas to urban areas are prevented from accessing many benefits that are available to their urban-registered peers, including education for their children. This prevents people from relocating to areas where they would be the most economically productive, and in turn contributes to economic and social inequality. The hukou system is also inconsistent with the obligations set forth by international human rights treaties, which China has ratified or may ratify in the future. This article will suggest that a new category of hukou registration could be created to enable migration to urban areas, promoting a gradual transition to urban registration. This new category, which I call the ‘hybrid hukou’ registration, would increase China’s economic productivity, decrease inequality, and enhance human rights in China. The ‘hybrid hukou’ registration would also give Chinese cities time to adjust to the influx of newcomers, which would likely result from greater mobility.