The Influence of Political Capital on Peasants’ Migration Behavior and Its Implications

Haojing Shen,Yan Song,Changchun Feng,Zhengying Shan

doi:10.3390/land10121363

Abstract

This study examined the influence of political capital on the migration behavior of peasant households in China’s equitable urbanization. While existing research has proven that political capital can increase the wages of migrant workers, leading to a higher possibility of their rural-to-urban migration, the direct impact of political capital on migration behavior has not received sufficient attention. As China is one of the largest emerging economies, the impact of political capital on the economy and political transformation is typical. This paper reports a survey of 1120 farmer households from Xinxiang, a traditional agricultural area in central China. Using a binary logit model to test whether peasant households will migrate and a multinomial logit model to test where they will migrate to, this study examined whether political capital had a significant influence on the migration behavior of peasant households. The results suggest that the peasant households with political capital have a higher possibility of moving to urban areas, even though there is a better habitational option, namely, a new village in the local rural area. This suggests that reducing the difference in the political capital of migrants through policy propaganda and other methods is an efficient and effective way to achieve and improve equitable access to urbanization.

Highlights

In the process of China’s transition to a socialist market-oriented economy, along with rapid urbanization, a large number of farmers have migrated to cities to work or live; whether each peasant has equitable access to urbanization is still a critical issue that needs to be studied
Since political capital does not lead to a higher possibility of peasant households moving to new villages, what is the biggest concern regarding peasant households’ migration in local rural areas? This study investigates the subjective reasons for peasants moving to the new villages and, from the survey results, it can be seen that the most subjective concerns of peasants are economic in nature
In contrast to conventional research interests regarding the influence of economic factors and social factors on migration behavior, this study focuses on the influence of peasant households’ political capital on migration behavior in the context of the rapid urbanization witnessed in China in the recent decades

Summary

Introduction

In the process of China’s transition to a socialist market-oriented economy, along with rapid urbanization, a large number of farmers have migrated to cities to work or live; whether each peasant has equitable access to urbanization is still a critical issue that needs to be studied. Ensuring that disadvantaged farmers have the opportunity and ability to make a fair choice in migration can promote inclusive urbanization. In the process of equitable urbanization, political capital is an essential factor affecting peasants’ equitable access to urbanization, deciding whether they migrate and where they migrate to.

Methods

Results

Conclusion