The Welfare Is Ours: Rural-to-Urban Migration and Domestic Welfare Chauvinism in Urban China

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study seeks to investigate whether welfare chauvinism exists in a large country with tremendous regional disparities and massive internal migration. Set in the context of coastal Guangdong Province, it examines Chinese people’s attitudes toward welfare entitlements for rural-to-urban immigrants. The study finds that chauvinistic attitude does not fracture along the lines of intergroup competition in the labor market; instead, it stems primarily from perceived competition over scarce welfare resources. Normative values and generalized trust powerfully mitigate welfare chauvinism. The larger relative number of migrants in the local community substantially increases the appeal of chauvinism, thus suggesting the occurrence of negative intergroup interactions. The empirical evidence is discussed against the broader context of rural-to-urban immigration in China and the developmental logic of its social policies.