Chinese Rural-urban Migrant Workers Research Articles

Decent work among rural-urban migrant workers in China: evidence and challenges

PurposeThis study aims to examine how Chinese rural-urban migrant workers' socio-economic status was associated with their decent work.Design/methodology/approachGrounded in the psychology of working theory (PWT), this study tested the path from rural-urban migrant workers' socio-economic status to decent work via work volition, with this path moderated by environmental uncertainty and trade union support. 470 rural-urban migrant workers from four manufacturing enterprises were investigated.FindingsResults indicated that rural-urban migrant workers' socio-economic status was positively associated with rural-urban migrant workers' decent work through work volition. In addition, environmental uncertainty weakened the impact of socio-economic status on work volition while trade union support strengthened the relationship between socio-economic status and work volition.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the growing research on the PWT by testing its utility among rural-urban migrant workers in the Chinese context. The study also identifies the crucial effects of environmental uncertainty and trade union support, which are distinctive characters of contemporary China, in the formation process of rural-urban migrant workers' decent work. A detailed explanation of the results and implications is discussed in the end.

Destination choices of Chinese rural–urban migrant workers: Jobs, amenities, and local spillovers

AbstractUsing the 2014 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, we analyze rural–urban migrant workers’ destination choices after the global financial crisis, with an emphasis on jobs, amenities, and local spillovers. By using an equilibrium‐sorting model, this paper disentangles local spillovers from local attributes in the estimation process. We employ both an artificial instrumental variable and the provincial highway passenger flow in 1979 to tackle the endogeneity issue. After controlling for the network effects of migrants from the same origin, we find a separate and strong preference for colocating with a large population of migrants, regardless of origin. The results remain robust when we take into account labor supply‐driven migration, spatial autocorrelation between provinces, different industry definitions, and regional differences within provinces. Our results imply that due to institutional barriers, the rural‐migrant community will still be a very important factor in the foreseeable future. In addition, as the ongoing industrial upgrading and transfer policies in China may lead to a westward movement of rural–urban migrants, the movement will be expedited when the older, less educated, or lower income migrants relocate.

Maintaining Ties and Reaffirming Unity: Family Rituals in the Age of Migration

ABSTRACTThis ethnographic study examines the forms and functions of ritualizing in migrant families, using Chinese rural-urban migrant workers’ annual Spring Festival family reunions as a case study. In-depth interviews with migrant workers and participant observations of family reunions in rural China reveal that both celebratory and non-celebratory family activities are ritualized. In particular, the study suggests that the Spring Festival family reunion has transformed into a meta-ritual comprised of five categories of ritual activities: festival rituals, reunion rituals, patterned interactions, reunions with friends, and communal rituals. These rituals constitute both the internal and external identities of migrant families, but may also remind them of the traumatic reality of family separation or trigger hidden tensions within the family. Implications for studying family communication in times of mobility and family diversity are discussed.

Does workplace social capital associate with hazardous drinking among Chinese rural-urban migrant workers?

BackgroundThe present study sought to investigate the associations between workplace social capital and hazardous drinking (HD) among Chinese rural-urban migrant workers (RUMW).MethodsA cross sectional study with a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure was conducted in Shanghai during July 2012 to January 2013. In total, 5,318 RUMWs from 77 workplaces were involved. Work-place social capital was assessed using a validated and psychometrically tested eight-item measure. The Chinese version of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess hazardous drinking. Control variables included gender, age, marital status, education level, salary, and current smoking. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to test whether individual- and workplace-level social capital was associated with hazardous drinking.ResultsOverall, the prevalence of HD was 10.6%. After controlling for individual-level socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, compared to workers in the highest quartile of individual-level social capital, the odds of HD for workers in the three bottom quartiles were 1.13(95%CI: 1.04–1.23), 1.17(95%CI: 1.05–1.56) and 1.26(95%CI: 1.13–1.72), respectively. However, contrary to hypothesis, there was no relationship between workplace-level social capital and hazardous drinking.ConclusionsHigher individual-level social capital may protect against HD among Chinese RUMWs. Interventions to build individual social capital among RUMWs in China may help reduce HD among this population.

The impact mechanism of social networks on Chinese rural–urban migrant workers’ behaviour and wages

AbstractChinese domestic rural–urban migrant workers have played a substantial role in economic development since the late 1970s. This article makes an attempt to establish a two-period hiring model interpreting the impact mechanism of social networks on migrant workers’ wages. The findings indicate that the extension of social networks of both firms and workers facilitates a decrease in the information gap between them and improves extra common benefits to both.

Ritual and Social Change: Chinese Rural–Urban Migrant Workers’ Spring Festival Homecoming as Secular Pilgrimage

Drawing upon Clifford Geertz’s interpretive approach to ritual, this study examines the meaning of the annual Spring Festival homecoming performed by rural-to-urban migrant workers in China. Built on participant observation of the ritual and in-depth interviews with 25 migrant workers, I suggest that the homecoming is a secular pilgrimage, the meaning of which emerges around travelers’ communication about suffering on the journey and the pursuit of an ideal “home” through communal traveling. This ritual exemplifies symbolic forms of communication used to cope with and make sense of social changes in modern societies.

Work stress, life stress, and smoking among rural–urban migrant workers in China

BackgroundStimulated by rapid modernization and industrialization, there is massive rural–urban migration in China. The migrants are highly susceptible to smoking and mental health problems. This study examined the association between both perceived work stress and perceived life stress with smoking behavior among this group during the period of migration.MethodsParticipants (n = 1,595) were identified through stratified, multi-stage, systematic sampling. Smoking status separated non-smokers from daily and occasional smokers, and migration history, work stress, and life stress were also measured. Analyses were conducted using the Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression. Two models were utilized. The first was the full model that comprised sociodemographic and migration-related characteristics, as well as the two stress variables. In addressing potential overlap between life and work stress, the second model eliminated one of the two stress variables as appropriate.ResultsOverall smoking prevalence was 64.9% (95% CI: 62.4-67.2%). In the regression analysis, under the full model, migrants with high perceived life stress showed a 45% excess likelihood to be current smokers relative to low-stress counterparts (OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.05 – 2.06). Applying the second model, which excluded the life stress variable, migrants with high perceived work stress had a 75% excess likelihood to be current smokers relative to opposites (OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.26–2.45).ConclusionsRural–urban migrant workers manifested a high prevalence of both life stress and work stress. While both forms of stress showed associations with current smoking, life stress appeared to outweigh the impact of work stress. Our findings could inform the design of tobacco control programs that would target Chinese rural–urban migrant workers as a special population.

Nicotine Dependence among Rural-Urban Migrants in China

BackgroundThe complex mechanism of nicotine dependency makes it challenging to evaluate dependence or progress towards dependence. The aim of this study was to estimate nicotine dependence levels and identify determinants of dependence among Chinese rural-urban migrants.MethodsMulti-stage systematic sampling was used to select 4,198 rural-urban migrants aged 18 years or older from three metropolises in China. A structured questionnaire was administered during face-to-face interviews. Nicotine dependence among participants was assessed by means of the six-item Mandarin Chinese Version of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (CFTND). Determinants of dependence were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).ResultsAmong 4,198 participants, estimated current, daily, and occasional smoking rates were 28.3%, 21.2%, and 7.1%, respectively. The CTFND score for the 894 daily smokers was 3.39(SD: 2.32). MANOVA showed that work type, age at first migration, length of migration, and number of cities ever lived were associated with nicotine dependence.ConclusionA migratory lifestyle is associated with nicotine dependence. Results could inform the design of tobacco control programs that target Chinese rural-urban migrant workers as a special at-risk population.

Smoking patterns among Chinese rural–urban migrant workers

To estimate smoking prevalence and identify correlates of smoking initiation among rural-urban migrant workers. Subjects were 4198 rural-urban migrant workers, aged 18 years and older, residing in three Chinese cities. Participants were identified through multistage quota sampling. They were asked about their migration history, pre-migration and post-migration smoking status, employment and home life. Analyses were conducted using Chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression. Overall, smoking prevalence was higher subsequent to migration (28.4%) compared with before migration (20.8%) (P<0.01). Initiation of daily smoking was associated with gender [odds ratio (OR) 0.02]; high school or greater education (OR 0.48; vs elementary school or lower); having a monthly personal income of 1000-1999 Yuan (OR 2.60), 2000-2999 Yuan (OR 3.08) or > or =3000 Yuan (OR 4.04) (vs <500 Yuan US$ 1=7.5 Yuan); and history of migration to three cities (OR:1.65) or four or more cities (OR 2.80) (vs one city). Initiation of occasional smoking was only associated with gender (OR 0.11). Solitude was the primary situational trigger for smoking initiation. A migratory lifestyle is associated with smoking initiation. Findings could inform the design of tobacco control programmes that would target Chinese rural-urban migrant workers as a special population.

On the Indigenization of Social Exclusion among Young Rural-Urban Migrant Workers—The Case of Hangzhou, a Coastal City in China

ABSTRACT The notion of social exclusion, which originated in France, has become increasingly significant among Chinese scholars in recent years and is now an important angle for research on socially disadvantaged groups. This paper reviews the social exclusion of young rural-urban migrant workers and its characteristics in terms of social insurance based on interviews conducted in Hangzhou, a coastal city in China. The research findings indicate that the social exclusion of these workers during the urban employment process is a result of total and structural surplus in the Chinese labor market. Such exclusion is further intensified by systemic problems in the social insurance system and by problems in its regulation and implementation. Based on these results, this paper argues that the social exclusion of Chinese rural-urban migrant workers is different from the new poverty in the West: it is intake exclusion within the labor market in the context of globalization. In China's present socio-economic environment, informal employment, which has resulted in the social exclusion of this population, still has a positive effect on both rural-urban migrant workers and the wider society. As a result, measures that address the problem of social exclusion should also place more emphasis on the development of the social insurance system and the use of investment policies, including human capital investment, to facilitate the empowerment of the target group and achieve the goal of social insurance for all.

The mental health status of Chinese rural–urban migrant workers

There are currently around 120 million rural-urban migrants in China. Elsewhere migration has been associated with increased vulnerability to mental health problems. This study was conducted to explore the mental health status and help seeking behaviours of migrant workers in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang Province, and to compare them with permanent urban and rural dwellers. A self-completion questionnaire including items relating to sociodemographics, health and lifestyles and mental health, was completed by 4453 migrant workers and 1957 urban workers in Hangzhou city, and by 1909 rural residents in Western Zhejiang Province. The mean age of the migrants was 27 years, (male 29 years, female 25 years). They worked long hours (28% >12 h per day, 81% 6 or 7 days per week) and their living conditions were very basic. On the SF-36 mental health scale migrants had lower scores (52.4) than rural residents (60.4, P < 0.0001) but scored higher than urban residents (47.2, P = 0.003). The difference between urbanites and migrants disappeared after adjustment for confounders (P = 0.06). Independent predictors of better mental health status among migrants were being unmarried, migrating with a partner, higher salary, good self-reported health and good relationships with co-workers. There were small significant differences in suicide ideation and attempts between the three groups with suicide ideation commonest in migrants and suicide attempts most common in the rural population. Fewer than 1% across all three groups had received any professional help for depression or anxiety. Rural-urban migrant workers in this part of China are not especially vulnerable to poor mental health. This may result from a sense of well being associated with upward economic mobility and improved opportunities, and the relatively high social capital in migrant communities.