Urban Residents’ Prejudice and Integration of Rural Migrants into Urban China

Abstract

Using data from a 2011 national household survey, this study examines the factors shaping urban residents’ prejudice toward rural-to-urban migrants and the impacts of prejudice on rural migrants’ integration into urban communities. The author addresses the endogeneity of the prejudice variable by employing an instrumental variable method. The results show that urban residents with higher education and household income report stronger prejudice. Also, urban residents with urban hukou at birth are more prejudiced toward rural migrants. Given that hukou status at birth is tied to parental hukou status, this result implies that prejudice can be transferred across generations. With regards to rural migrants’ integration into urban communities, high levels of prejudice in one’s current county of residence reduces perceived social standing of rural migrants and increases the number of livelihood problems they encounter. The author also conducts a falsification test, which provides support that the effect of urban residents’ prejudice on rural migrants’ integration is causal.